The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2015-09-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on the exchange rate of sterling.
Harriett Baldwin
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues relating to the UK economy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on retuning systems it operates as a result of the release of 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz spectrum bands.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence is currently forecasting a £47.1 million spend on remediation costs retuning systems from the 2.3GHz spectrum band. There are currently no known remediation costs associated with 3.4GHz.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to remove barriers to small energy providers using the services of the Data Communications Company.
Andrea Leadsom
DECC has undertaken a continuous programme of outreach with independent suppliers. This has allowed us to monitor their views on a range of issues, including costs and their ability to use the services of the Data Communications Company (DCC). One challenge we recognised independent suppliers may face was the cost effective procurement of adaptor software enabling them to access DCC services. Over the last twelve to eighteen months, this challenge has been taken up by a number of commercial providers bringing managed service IT solutions to the market which allow independent suppliers to access the DCC with minimal upfront cost. We will continue to monitor the situation to verify that smaller suppliers are able to access the DCC services satisfactorily.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what projections his Department has made for the number of people who will have diabetes by 2050.
Jane Ellison
The Department has made no such estimate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker applications were received from Syrian nationals in each of the last five years; and how many such applicants were (a) refused, (b) granted refugee status, (c) granted humanitarian protection and (d) granted discretionary leave to remain.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office publishes an analysis of applications for whole-year cohorts of asylum seekers to establish the overall success rates following appeal; this is available in Table as_06 (Asylum data table Volume 2) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. For the latest years, some cases will still be outstanding. This cohort analysis is therefore not able to provide a complete picture for the latest applications but for most years will provide the most complete description of the outcome for asylum seekers. The analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, at a particular time. This dataset is updated, in full, annually and is currently available up to 2014.
Insert Table
A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contribution of 26 March 2015 by the then Parliamentary under Secretary of State, on Immigration: Detention, Official Report, House of Lords, column 1587, what recent assessment she has made of changes in the number of people held in immigration removal centres; and what steps she is taking to reduce growth in such numbers.
James Brokenshire
Home Office published statistics show that as at 30 June 2015, 3418 people were in detention, an increase on the number recorded at the end of June 2014 (3,079). This data is available online https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2015/detention.
Capacity of the detention estate is kept under constant review. Decisions will continue to be made according to operational priorities. Haslar Immigration Removal Centre was transferred back to the National Offender Management Service in April 2015, reducing the overall detention estate capacity.
On 9 February the Home Secretary announced an independent review of detainee welfare in immigration detention, led by Stephen Shaw. The report is expected in the autumn and the Government will publish the report by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Access All Areas Report 2015, published by Guide Dogs, what steps he is taking to address taxi refusals for assistance dog owners.
Andrew Jones
The Equality Act 2010 includes a legal requirement for all taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to carry assistance dogs and not to charge more for doing so.
In addition to their ability to take appropriate action in the event that licensed drivers fail to comply with this duty, local licensing authorities can inform taxi and private hire drivers of all their responsibilities as licensed drivers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take following the recent report of Passenger Focus, Ticket to Ride”
Baroness Kramer
To coincide with the publication of Passenger Focus’s report, ‘Ticket to Ride – an Update’, the Government commenced a consultation on 3 February 2015 on changes to the process for administering penalty fares appeals. The consultation closes on 27 April 2015. A copy of the consultation document is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord De Mauley on 10 February (HL4601), whether the three offshore patrol vessels referred to as fulfilling the Royal Naval commitment to fishery protection included the Offshore Patrol Vessel presently deployed to the West Indies for five months.
Lord De Mauley
There is a formal agreement between the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Royal Navy that provides for the Royal Navy to supply surveillance and fisheries inspection services to the MMO. The agreement contains a commitment from the Royal Navy to provide 500 days of service annually to the MMO. It has three offshore patrol vessels based in UK waters: HMS Severn, HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey. The MMO do not specify how many or which vessels will be used at any one time to fulfil this role.
HMS Severn was available to contribute to delivery of that commitment between 1 April and 19 November 2014 after which it was tasked with other high priority duties. On projected figures it is anticipated that the Royal Navy will meet its commitments to the MMO for the financial year through the combined use of HMS Tyne, HMS Severn and HMS Mersey.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of funding into the artificial pancreas; and why there has not been a call for artificial pancreas research by the National Institute for Health Research.
Earl Howe
Research infrastructure funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) contributes to international artificial pancreas research. This infrastructure includes the NIHR biomedical research centres at Cambridge and Imperial College London, the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Imperial Clinical Research Facility, and the NIHR Clinical Research Network. Spend on artificial pancreas research cannot be disaggregated from total expenditure through this infrastructure.
There has been no specific call for artificial pancreas research by the NIHR. However, the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including artificial pancreas systems. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.