The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff his Department has employed in data entry roles relating to universal credit in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire 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, which infrastructure projects have accessed the UK Guarantees scheme; and how much funding was issued in each such case.
Danny Alexander
Three guarantees and one Stand-by Facility have been signed under the UK Guarantees Scheme with a total value of £1,090,800,000. This includes Drax Power (£75m), Sustainable Development Capital – UK Energy Efficiency Investment Funds (£8.8m), Northern Line Extension (£750m) and Mersey Gateway Bridge (£257m).
Any guarantees signed are reported to Parliament as required by the legislation, Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012, underpinning the Scheme and can also be found on the gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Mary Glindon on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect of reductions in the number of people employed in the public sector in Northern Ireland.
Mr Andrew Robathan
The Government is committed to rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy in favour of the private sector which we, and the Executive, believe is the best way to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future. Over the last year, private sector jobs in Northern Ireland have increased by 10,490 and public sector jobs by 1,790.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Arts Council has spent per head of population in Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Arts Council England (ACE) makes its funding decisions independently of Government and as such we do not hold the information requested. However, the following information has been provided by ACE:
Value of ACE awards to applicants resident in ASHFIELD Constituency 2009 2014
|
Decision Year |
Value of Awards |
Per-Capita* |
|
2009/10 |
£9,706 |
£0.10 |
|
2010/11 |
£9,712 |
£0.10 |
|
2011/12 |
£13,500 |
£0.13 |
|
2012/13 |
||
|
2013/14 |
* based on Mid-2011 population estimate (ONS) 101,914.
In addition, ACE made two other awards totalling £3.8m from which Ashfield can benefit
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to recover legal aid payments to the firm Public Interest Lawyers following their statement on 20 March that there was no evidence that British soldiers had murdered 20 Iraqis.
Lord Faulks
Legal aid is not funding the Al-Sweady Inquiry. There are therefore no plans to recover payments made from legal aid to Public Interest Lawyers following their statement on 20 March.
On 20 March, at the Al-Sweady Inquiry into the most serious allegations against British soldiers in the Iraq War, lawyers representing Iraqi families withdrew their claim that the troops had killed unarmed civilians they had captured and brought back to an army base.
The inquiry continues and the statement on 20 March does not mean that the inquiry has been abandoned.
Legal aid was provided for an action prior to the Inquiry. Legal aid was provided to Iraqi applicants to seek an independent and effective investigation into deaths and torture or inhumane and degrading treatment in relation to the incident at checkpoint Danny Boy in Iraq in May 2004. As a result of these proceedings, the Secretary of State for Defence decided to hold the Al-Sweady Inquiry. This action was therefore successful in its aim.
The Inquiry is not yet complete and the Chairman’s report is not due to be published until later in the year. Public Interest Lawyers’s statement refers to part only of the allegations made and the Ministry of Justice awaits the Inquiry Report before commenting further.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have waited longer than the advised waiting times for (a) new passport applications and (b) passport renewals in the last year.
James Brokenshire
The information is not available in the format requested. Information can be
provided for UK straightforward and non-straightforward applications as set out
below for 2013-14
Total number of UK applications received 2013-14 5,818,272
Processed outside published turnaround times
Straightforward (within 3
weeks)
401 (0.007% of applications received)
Non-straightforward (within 6 weeks)
29,331 (0.5% of applications received)
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage local authority pension schemes to take into account environmental, social and governance factors in their decisions.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
These issues are matters for individual local authorities that administer pension funds to consider when deciding upon their investment strategies. Each administering authority is required to publish a statement of principles, which may address such issues. Statutory guidance states that the authority must report periodically to scheme members on the implementation of their policies.
Notwithstanding, local authorities need to focus on delivering a good rate of return for their fund and value for taxpayers, given local government pensions cost taxpayers (via employer contributions) almost £6 billion a year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what projections his Department has made of the future (a) face value and (b) carrying value of the student loan book.
Mr David Willetts
(a) We estimate the cash, or face, value of ICR student loans to follow approximately this profile going forwards.
Value of loan book in real terms
|
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
|
£70bn |
£80bn |
£90bn |
£100bn |
£110bn |
£120bn |
£130bn |
£140bn |
£150bn |
£160bn |
|
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
2026-27 |
2027-28 |
2028-29 |
2029-30 |
2030-31 |
2031-32 |
2032-33 |
2033-34 |
|
£170bn |
£180bn |
£190bn |
£200bn |
£210bn |
£220bn |
£230bn |
£240bn |
£250bn |
£260bn |
|
2034-35 |
2035-36 |
2036-37 |
2037-38 |
2038-39 |
2039-40 |
2040-41 |
2041-42 |
2042-43 |
2043-44 |
|
£260bn |
£270bn |
£280bn |
£280bn |
£290bn |
£300bn |
£300bn |
£310bn |
£320bn |
£320bn |
|
2044-45 |
2045-46 |
2046-47 |
2047-48 |
2048-49 |
2049-50 |
||||
|
£330bn |
£330bn |
£330bn |
£330bn |
£330bn |
£330bn |
Value of loan book in nominal terms
|
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
2021-22 |
2022-23 |
2023-24 |
|
£70bn |
£80bn |
£100bn |
£110bn |
£130bn |
£150bn |
£170bn |
£190bn |
£210bn |
£230bn |
|
2024-25 |
2025-26 |
2026-27 |
2027-28 |
2028-29 |
2029-30 |
2030-31 |
2031-32 |
2032-33 |
2033-34 |
|
£250bn |
£270bn |
£300bn |
£320bn |
£350bn |
£380bn |
£410bn |
£440bn |
£470bn |
£500bn |
|
2034-35 |
2035-36 |
2036-37 |
2037-38 |
2038-39 |
2039-40 |
2040-41 |
2041-42 |
2042-43 |
2043-44 |
|
£530bn |
£570bn |
£600bn |
£640bn |
£670bn |
£710bn |
£750bn |
£790bn |
£830bn |
£870bn |
|
2044-45 |
2045-46 |
2046-47 |
2047-48 |
2048-49 |
2049-50 |
||||
|
£920bn |
£960bn |
£1,000bn |
£1,030bn |
£1,070bn |
£1,100bn |
These estimates assume that fees will increase in line with inflation from 2016 onwards. These forecasts also take account of the freeing up of student number controls in the Autumn Statement, increases in loan take-up rates, demographic changes over time and updated earnings modelling.
(b) We estimate the current carrying value of the student loan book, which is used in the BIS accounts. However, we do not forecast the future carrying value of the loan book, as this is not required for the purposes of accounting or budgeting. Our estimate of the carrying value for loans when they are issued is based on the RAB charge, which we currently estimate is around 45%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2014-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are home-schooled in (a) Lancashire and (b) Rossendale and Darwen constituency.
Elizabeth Truss
The information requested is not held by the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Clappison on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the position of (a) the Christian community and (b) other religious minorities in Mosul, Iraq; what reports he has received of Christians fleeing their homes in Mosul; and if he will make a statement.
Hugh Robertson
We are concerned by the impact of the security situation in Mosul for all Iraqis living there, including religious minorities. Reports estimate that 500,000 people have left the Mosul area to escape violence caused when the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) attacked the city on 10 June. Many have sought refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A team from the Department for International Development arrived in Erbil on 13 June to assess the situation on the ground and co-ordinate with partners. We continue to monitor the situation closely.