The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) social and (b) affordable housing tenants in receipt of housing benefit who have paid rents in excess of local housing allowance rates in each of the last six years.
Justin Tomlinson
The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on HMS Artful.
Mr Philip Dunne
The first three Astute class submarines were ordered as a single batch. Separate construction costs for Artful are, therefore, not held by the department. As such, it is not possible to determine how much the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has spent on HMS Artful individually; nor what the MOD expected the specific cost of HMS Artful to be, when commissioned.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has examined the funding of horseracing from remote gambling in France and Ireland to inform its policy on the funding of horseracing in Britain.
Tracey Crouch
To inform work to replace the current levy system, we have commissioned an independent economic analysis of the costs and funding of horseracing. This economic analysis work will also examine relevant comparable models
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she plans to close the feed-in tariff scheme in January 2016; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The FIT review consultation was published on 27 August and closed on 23 October. The review proposed changes to generation tariffs and tariff bands and included proposals on cost control measures, such as capping deployment, in order to put the scheme onto an affordable and sustainable footing. An option to close the scheme, should cost control measures not be sufficient to achieve this, was also set out in the consultation.
We have received nearly 55,000 responses to the consultation. We are currently analysing these responses and will do so as quickly as possible. We will publish a Government response in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received from his French, American and German counterparts on Britain’s decision to extend airstrikes to Syria.
Penny Mordaunt
My French, American and German counterparts have all welcomed the role we are now playing in Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether pre-planned lynchings, immolations, and attacks on Muslim burial grounds have taken place during the term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and whether they will raise the question of human rights with him.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of recent incidents of sectarian violence. These are being investigated by the Indian authorities, and arrests have been made. We are clear that any allegations of human rights abuses should be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to help create renewable energy industry jobs in Dundee.
Andrea Leadsom
Government support has helped to create a thriving renewables sector and drive strong progress on UK supply chain development. According to DECC analysis based on BIS 2015: Size and Performance of the Low Carbon Economy the sector currently supports around 16,000 jobs in Scotland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2015-11-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timetable for implementing the comprehensive legislative reform of health professional regulation to which they have committed.
Lord Prior of Brampton
This Government is grateful for the work of the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in reviewing the regulation of health and (in England) social care professionals.
The Law Commissions made 125 recommendations to reform the existing complex and burdensome regulatory system. The joint four United Kingdom country response to the Law Commissions was published on 29 January 2015 which accepted wholly or in part the vast majority of its recommendations. A copy of the response is attached.
The Department is currently reviewing how best to take forward the work of the Law Commissions. We hope to be able to provide an update on this work soon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made in his renegotiation with the EU on achieving migration restrictions without requiring treaty change.
Mr David Lidington
Tackling abuses of the right to free movement and reducing the draw that our welfare system can exert across Europe are key elements of the renegotiation agenda. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has been clear in his discussions with other leaders that the reforms we are seeking must be legally binding and irreversible and that in some areas that will mean treaty change. We look forward to further substantive discussions on this issue at the December European Council.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the measures small businesses can take to protect themselves from cyber-attacks.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
he Government is investing £860m in a comprehensive National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) to protect the UK from cyber attacks, tackle cyber crime and make the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online.
Through the NCSP the Government is providing protective advice and guidance, such as the “Ten Steps to Cyber Security”, the Cyber Streetwise campaign, and “Get Safe Online”, and promoting the Cyber Essentials scheme, which sets out the basic technical controls to protect against common cyber attacks. The Government is also building partnerships with industry and sharing cyber threat information, and building law enforcement capabilities to tackle cyber crime, including the National Cyber Crime Unit within the National Crime Agency, and the new network of cyber crime officers within the Metropolitan Police Service and Regional Organised Crime Units.
The Cyber Essentials scheme and Cyber Streetwise campaign are specifically designed to help protect small businesses. In addition, tailored guidance called “What you need to know about cyber security” is available for small businesses, as well as a free online training course for staff in small and medium-sized business.