Tag: 2015

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s average spend on Bus Service Operators Grant was per capita in each English region in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Andrew Jones

    The information requested is not available in this form. However, details of the annual amounts paid to individual bus operators in England, and the local authority area in which they are based, can be found at the following links for 2014/15, 2013/14 and 2012/13:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-operators-grant-payments-to-english-operators-up-to-31-march-2015

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-operators-grant-payments-to-english-operators-up-to-31-march-2014

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-operators-grant-payments-to-english-operators-up-to-31-march-2013

    “

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings he has had with airlines in which the administration charges for customers claiming back Air Passenger Duty were discussed; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I regularly meet with airlines to discuss a range of issues. The administration charges related to the refund of Air Passenger Duty has been raised previously. Many airlines do offer a refund of flight taxes including Air Passenger Duty, although some charge an administration fee for processing the refund.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will respond to the Work and Pensions Committee Report on Benefit sanctions beyond the Oakley review, Fifth Report of Session 2014-15, HC 814.

    Priti Patel

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 July 2015 to Question3938

    “

  • Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Higgins on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to ensure that the United Kingdom can decide where to land migrants rescued from the Mediterranean by the Royal Navy, so as to ensure that they are not landed in the European Union.

    Lord Bates

    Under international law the UK has a duty not to return people who are rescued at sea to countries where they would be at risk of serious harm. That is why migrants rescued at sea are taken to Italy as this is considered the nearest safe country.

    But we are pushing for the swift establishment of ‘hot spot’ screening centres and action to return those who do not need our protection to their countries of origin.

  • Lord Moynihan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Moynihan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moynihan on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ask water companies to do more to co-ordinate and implement flood defences; whether they plan to launch a full and transparent tender process in the market to meet this objective; and whether water companies’ work on flood defence is intended to be outwith their regulated business.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Water and sewerage companies’ responsibilities include managing the risk of flooding from surface water or sewer systems. They are also expected to work in partnership with the Environment Agency and Lead Local Flood Authorities to manage the risks of all sources of flooding within a catchment.

    The Government has therefore not asked water companies to do more to co-ordinate and implement flood defences, nor is it planning to launch a tender process in the market to meet this objective.

  • Baroness Uddin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Uddin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to support families waiting for a diagnosis of autism for a child.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism make it clear that families should wait no more than three months to start diagnosis. Every part of the National Health Service should be adhering to these guidelines.

    There are new arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs, introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014. These require clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities to make joint arrangements for ensuring a coordinated assessment of the range of eligible children’s needs, and the development of an Education, Health and Care plan to provide necessary support.

    NHS England’s Children with Complex Needs Implementation Board is leading working on ensuring robust and accountability mechanisms are in place to ensure delivery and to allow NHS England to hold CCGs to account for performance.

  • Stuart Blair Donaldson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stuart Blair Donaldson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Blair Donaldson on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government has taken to make property ownership by foreign companies more transparent.

    Anna Soubry

    The Prime Minister stated during a speech made in Singapore on 28 July that he will consult on the best way forward to extending what we ask of UK companies to foreign companies.

    He has also asked Land Registry from this autumn to publish data on which foreign companies own which land and property titles in England and Wales.

  • George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of where the compensating permanent deficit or deficits will appear in the national income accounts as a result of his Department sustaining a permanent budget surplus.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In the UK National Accounts, the income and expenditure of different sectors (household, corporate, public sector, and the rest of the world) imply paths for each sector’s net lending or borrowing. By identity, these must sum to zero as for each borrower there must be a lender.

    If the public sector were to run a budget surplus, there would be an offsetting change in the net lending position of one of the household, corporate and the rest of the world sectors. More information is available in the latest OBR Economic and Fiscal Forecast (July 2015). A link to the information is provided below:

    http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-july-2015/

    “

  • Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the benefits to the taxpayer, and to the electorate, of combining the dates of the proposed new mayoral elections and the local elections.

    James Wharton

    Both combining the dates for the new mayoral elections and local elections, and holding free-standing mayoral elections, can benefit the taxpayers and the electorate. Combining mayoral and local elections gives savings in electoral administration, up to 30% of the cost of each poll, is more convenient for voters and encourages turnout. Holding free-standing mayoral elections enhances mayoral accountability, encouraging value for money in a Mayor’s decisions, and may also allow mayoral governance to be introduced earlier than otherwise.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 4551, if she will request that Ofgem consider whether, given that SSE’s cost of generating hydro power is comparatively lower than the cost of a gas-fired plant the additional charges being levied by SSE to maintain supply in the Highlands and Islands is appropriate.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Electricity supplied to consumers in the Highlands and Islands region is produced by a range of generation types traded in a competitive market across GB. The electricity retail price paid by consumers in the Highlands and Islands, or any other given region, is not therefore determined by the predominant generation type in that region.

    The particular challenges of electricity supply in the Highlands and Islands – primarily related to the relatively large and sparsely populated terrain – mean that it costs more to distribute electricity here than elsewhere. There are two UK Government schemes which ensure consumers in this region do not bear an unreasonable burden of these costs. The Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme is providing an assistance amount of £57m in 2015/16 to all consumers in the North of Scotland, which is funded through charges on all licensed electricity suppliers across GB. The Common Tariff Obligation ensures electricity suppliers in the North of Scotland are not able to charge comparable domestic consumers different prices solely on the basis of their location within the region and protects consumers in remote rural areas from the relatively high costs of supplying electricity in these areas.