The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid under the Enterprise Initiative Scheme to members of each qualifying wind farm co-operative in each of the last three years.
Nicky Morgan
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s policy is on (a) the frequency of periodic roadworthiness tests for old vehicles and (b) the stringency of technical roadside inspections for commercial vehicles in line with European Union roadworthiness package adopted by the European Parliament on 12 March 2014.
Stephen Hammond
The Department will be consulting widely on the changes required by the new Directive relating to old vehicles with a view to supporting road safety and minimising unnecessary burdens for vehicle owners. This engagement will start in coming months. The new Directive regarding technical roadside inspections will be very close to existing practice in Great Britain, if any changes to processes are required these will be adopted after consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to promote the video games tax relief to video games producers.
Mr David Gauke
The video games tax relief came into effect from 1 April 2014. This generous new relief will provide support for the growing video games sector in the UK.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are currently presenting a series of events across the country to promote and explain the new relief to the industry. A specialist unit has been provided to assist businesses with making claims. Guidance is available on HMRC’s website to explain the relief and help businesses decide whether they are eligible for relief. HMRC are working closely with the video games industry to develop more detailed guidance, which will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests for reconsideration of an employment and support allowance decision have been subject to a decision since 28 October 2013.
Mike Penning
While mandatory reconsideration data is being collected, it is not sufficiently robust and reliable to make available.
The Department is looking into what can be published. The data will need to be validated in order to ensure that it satisfies the relevant standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what average length of time is taken by his Department to make a decision on a planning application referred to it.
Nick Boles
During 2013/14, 272 planning applications were referred to the Secretary of State under the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009. Records indicate that the average number of days it took to make a decision was 21 days.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review his decision not to carry out a cumulative impact assessment on the effect of welfare reform on people with disability.
Mike Penning
The Government regularly produces analysis of the cumulative impact of all Coalition changes, including welfare, on households across the income distribution. This information is produced by the Treasury and is published alongside every Budget and Autumn Statement, in the interests of transparency. The previous government did not provide this type of analysis. The most recent update was published with the Budget on 19 March 2014, and can be found using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293738/budget_2014_distributional_analysis.pdf
Distributional analysis is provided for the whole population on the basis of household income and household expenditure. However this is not disaggregated to the level of household characteristics such as disability status or lower level geographies. No organisation is able to do this robustly.
This analysis estimates the effect of Coalition measures from all fiscal events from the Budget in June 2010 to the Budget in 2014. It also includes changes that were announced before the Budget in June 2010 that have been implemented by this Government. Current Coalition policies are compared with what might have happened if the previous Government’s policies had continued into the future without any further fiscal consolidation.
The Government currently has no plans to undertake a review or change the decision on cumulative impact assesments.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on whether staff from Arqiva visited Fownhope to assess the adequacy of mobile telephone reception in that area.
Mr Edward Vaizey
It is not in Arqiva’s remit to assess adequacy of mobile telephone reception, and no Arqiva staff visited Fownhope for that purpose. It is Ofcom’s role to assess the adequacy of mobile coverage and reception. Ofcom has updated the notspot data for 2014 with information from the Mobile Network Operators, and Arqiva base their planning on that information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2014-04-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance HM Treasury has given to the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority on the use of selective press briefing of unannounced policies or position statements on matters judged to be market price-sensitive.
Lord Newby
The Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority are operationally independent of Government. HM Treasury does not issue them with operational guidance about how they should discharge their statutory duties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress has been made in rolling out Individual Electoral Registration across the country.
Greg Clark
Individual Electoral Registration was launched in England and Wales, as planned, on 10 June 2014. This included the introduction of on-line registration. IER is due to be launched in Scotland on 19 September. The roll out of IER is proceeding as planned, to date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-04-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 18 March (WA 16), how many programmes are already being implemented to tackle violence against women in Afghanistan; and how many programmes focussing on the other strategic priorities of the Department for International Development in Afghanistan are being implemented.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
Two programmes directly address violence: £3M towards a joint programme with Australia to improve the implementation of laws designed to protect women and girls affected by violence; and £19.9M DFID support to the Tawanmandi programme with grants to Civil Society Organisations, where at least £2M of grants from 2014 will go to organisations primarily focused on the elimination of violence against women and girls.
Violence is also indirectly addressed through a long term approach of promoting women’s rights, empowerment and education. DFID has a wide range of programmes supporting this agenda, e.g. £4.5M nation-wide support to women’s political participation and the £47M Girls Education Challenge fund improving access to education for 250,000 marginalised girls.