The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent by her Department on legal representation and court costs in respect of action over the financial requirement.
James Brokenshire
In the case of MM & Others concerning the minimum income threshold under the family Immigration Rules, the costs incurred by the Home Office as at 3 July 2014 were approximately £163,000.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that UK aid spending is used in the manner intended.
Lynne Featherstone
DFID has rigorous internal systems and processes to ensure that its aid reaches the intended beneficiaries and delivers results. A business case is mandatory for all new funding proposals, and all cases over five million pounds are approved at ministerial level. Once a programme is underway a formal review is required annually and at completion, which assesses and records whether funds have been used for their intended purposes and the results that have been delivered. Assurance that our aid money is being used for the intended purposes is gained form a number of independent providers including Internal Audit Department.
DFID has commissioned a package of reforms to further improve programme leadership, processes and capability and strengthen our oversight of spending.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department paid to (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Sodexo, (d) GEOAmey, (e) Capita, (f) Atos, (g) Mitie, (h) Working Links, (i) A4E, (j) MTC Amey, (k) GEO Group and (l) Carillion in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.
David Mundell
As part of my department’s transparency programme, any spend over £25,000 is available on the Department’s website. Since January 2011, all contracts over £10,000 in value are published on Contracts Finder (http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/).
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much land his Department has released for the purpose of building new homes since May 2010.
Stephen Crabb
None. Our London office stands on the only land owned by the Wales Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 3 March 2014, Official Report, column 624W, on Floods: Business, how many Repair and Renewal Grant applications have been (a) received and (b) processed.
Dan Rogerson
The ‘Repair and Renew’ grant was launched on 1 April 2014. Applications for the grant are being received and processed by local authorities, who may then invoice Defra every quarter. Defra began receiving invoices from local authorities in July.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of time taken to process settlements for the War Pensions Scheme has been in each year since 2010.
Anna Soubry
The average length of time taken to process claims under the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010 has been;
2010-11 – 39 working days
2011-12 – 51 working days
2012-13 – 82 working days
2013-14 – 110 working days
2014-15 year to 31 July – 102 working days
In the majority of cases deadlines for progressing cases are met. The War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Schemes are jointly resourced and administered. The impact of the implementation of the Boyce Review on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (Cm 7798, published February 2010) and its subsequent publicity campaign, combined with an increase in the number of applications for War Disablement Pension (linked to more people with pre-April 2005 service reaching the end of their engagement), led to delays in processing prospective claims.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the additional cost of additional appeals to the Parking Traffic Appeals Service if a 25 per cent discount is given to motorists who lose an appeal at tribunal against the issue of a parking ticket.
Brandon Lewis
As recommended by the Transport Select Committee (Local authority parking enforcement, HC 118, October 2013), the Government intends to work in partnership with a local authority to assess introducing a 25% discount to motorists who lose an appeal at tribunal level. This trial will allow us to evaluate the impacts, before rolling out the policy nationally.
The underlying policy rationale is the current lack of any discount at an appeal stage (but with a discount operating if the driver does not appeal) acts as a disincentive for drivers with genuine cases to appeal. I would remind the rt. hon. Member that parking fines are a quasi-judicial process, not a source of revenue for councils. This Government believes in fairness, in contrast to the Labour Government which actively told councils to adopt aggressive parking enforcement practices.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Griffiths on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children receive free school meals in each (a) free school and (b) local authority area where a free school has been established.
Mr David Laws
Information on the percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals was included in the publication ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2014′.[1]
Information on the percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in individual schools, including free schools, is provided in the publication’s underlying data. This includes school type and local authority.
Table 8a in the publication shows the percentage of pupils in state-funded nursery and primary schools known to be eligible and claiming free school meals by each local authority area. Table 8b shows the percentage of pupils in state funded secondary schools known to be eligible and claiming free school meals by each local authority area. Table 3 shows the percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in free schools nationally.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2014
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that those clinical commissioning groups providing financial support to a neighbouring clinical commissioning group does not suffer a reduction in its own provision of services as a result.
Dr Daniel Poulter
NHS England has responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) funding.
We are informed by NHS England that there is no provision for financial support between CCGs, and therefore no regime for repayment and/or interest.
CCGs are expected to live within the resources allocated to them, but in rare cases where this is not possible, and subject to detailed assurance by NHS England Area Teams, a deficit plan is agreed and centrally funded. CCGs are expected to repay such funding over an agreed timescale in accordance with an approved recovery plan. The same applies if a CCG with a planned surplus records a deficit in year.
In some cases, neighbouring CCGs have opted to enter into risk sharing or investment pooling arrangements, for example, in the context of shared commissioning arrangements or to facilitate wider health economy transformation programmes. The precise arrangements for such risk sharing are a matter for local determination by the governing bodies concerned, and they would be expected to ensure that these agreements were transparently documented and did not impact adversely on patient services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weatherley on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of missed GP appointments; and if he will make a statement.
Dr Daniel Poulter
Information is not collected centrally on the number of missed general practitioner (GP) appointments. This is a matter for local organisations. However, NHS England estimates that each year around 12 million GP appointments are missed, at a cost to the system of £162 million.
In order to reduce the number of missed GP appointments, the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund is supporting pilots to ensure appointments are as convenient as possible for the patient. The pilots will offer millions more patients evening and weekend GP appointments, as well as introducing initiatives, such as email and Skype consultations.