The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the impact of air pollution on the lung function of children in the London Borough of Lambeth.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England has not made any estimate of the impact of air pollution on the lung function of children in the London Borough of Lambeth.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The cost to the Department for Transport (including its executive agencies, but excluding its non-departmental public bodies)using external agencies for therecruitmentof Senior Civil Serviceposts in the last three financial years is set out below:
Financial year 2012/2013 – £195,596.40
Financial year 2013/2014 – £219,587.08
Financial year 2014/2015 – £198,740.56
The financial data on the cost of using external agencies for the recruitment of Senior Civil Service posts in the financial years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 are not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, if their objectives of European Union re-negotiation are not met, they plan to recommend leaving that organisation.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), is confident that with good will and understanding, he can and will succeed in negotiating reform in the EU and Britain’s relationship within it. As he has said, if he succeeds he will campaign to keep the UK in a reformed EU but if he does not achieve these changes he rules nothing out.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to (a) contribute to the delivery of the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK and (b) ensure that vulnerable young people have the requisite financial skills necessary for working life.
Harriett Baldwin
The government recognises the importance of impartial financial guidance and that increased financial capability for consumers will lead to better outcomes for both consumers and the wider economy. Helping hard-working people achieve their aspirations at every stage of their lives is at the heart of our long term plan. That is why we launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation in October 2015 to seek input on what role the government should play in promoting financial capability, and how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance should be structured to give consumers the information they need to make financial decisions. In addition, the government recognises the importance of giving young people the skills they need to make financial decisions, which is why financial education has been on the national secondary school curriculum in England since September 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what work his Department has commissioned to identify the number of exchange-only lines on the telecom network that are incompatible with fibre to the cabinet broadband technology.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The vast majority of phone lines across the UK connect to the nearest telephone exchange via a street cabinet, which can be upgraded to deliver fibre broadband. Estimates are not available of the number of premises served by exchange only lines which connect directly to the local exchange rather than via one of BT’s street cabinets. There are a variety of reasons why exchange only lines are created. For example, for rural exchanges serving few premises where there was no need for cabinets, or for urban exchanges where it may have been a more cost-effective. Exchange only lines present a greater engineering challenge to deliver fibre broadband than those connected via street cabinets but technical solutions are available. One solution is to rearrange the existing network, lay new cables to reroute lines to new cabinets. This technique was developed as part of the BDUK Superfast Broadband Programme, and the number of exchange only lines is reducing all the time as roll out under the programme continues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health currently assessing the application for grant funding made by Action on Smoking and Health.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The assessment of the grant application for funding from Action on Smoking and Health is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants of his Department are members of trades unions; how many working hours of facility time are taken by such civil servants; and what estimate he has made of the cost of that facility time to his Department.
Harriett Baldwin
Information relating to the number of HM Treasury staff who are members of Trade Unions is a matter for the relevant trade unions.
The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 at and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Chairman of Committees whether employees of public affairs companies can hold a House of Lords staff pass.
Lord Laming
Yes. Members of the House of Lords may sponsor their staff for parliamentary photo-passes, provided the member certifies that the applicant for the pass genuinely provides parliamentary research or secretarial services for the member or acts as a carer or driver for them.
Members’ staff with parliamentary photo-passes are subject to the Code of Conduct for House of Lords Members’ Staff. This requires them to disclose in the Register of Members’ Staff Interests any employment they have outside the House of Lords. They must also register any financial interest in businesses or organisations involved in public affairs or parliamentary lobbying. The Code of Conduct prohibits members’ staff from making use of their access to the parliamentary estate to further the interests of an outside body from whom they receive payment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce legislative proposals to prevent UK tax rules allowing companies to avoid paying tax in developing countries.
Mr David Gauke
The UK, like most countries, has a territorial tax system that focuses on taxing profits generate from economic activity in the UK. It is not possible to use the UK tax system to prevent companies from avoiding paying tax in other countries. Our corporate tax system is designed to protect the UK’s tax base, not those of other countries.
The key issue is ensuring that developing countries have the assistance required to develop their own rules to protect their tax bases. The UK has set up a specialist Tax Capacity Building Unit in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which deploys HMRC staff to developing countries to provide technical expertise. Earlier this year, we committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.
The UK is also at the forefront of global efforts to address tax avoidance by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Over 60 countries have been involved in this work, including developing countries.
The BEPS project was completed on 5 October, and the focus is now on implementation. The UK is chairing a group of over 90 countries, including developing countries such as Zambia, who are working together to develop a multilateral instrument (MLI) to update the global network of tax treaties in line with the BEPS project outcomes. The MLI will help developing countries whose tax treaty negotiation expertise may be more limited than in governments of developed economies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that sixth form colleges provide students with a high quality education.
Nick Boles
We are introducing reforms to ensure that sixth form colleges are providing high quality academic and technical education. We are reforming A levels and technical qualifications to ensure that young people are gaining the skills and knowledge they need to progress into employment, apprenticeships or further study.
We want A levels and technical qualifications to be robust and rigorous, so that they match the best education systems in the world and keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands. A levels are therefore being reviewed to ensure that the qualifications equip students for higher education and to make them linear (i.e. with the exam at the end of two years), allowing more time for teaching and learning. In addition, all technical qualifications approved for inclusion in 16-19 performance tables now meet rigorous standards and are backed by employers.
The government has recently announced an ambitious plan for reforming technical and professional education which will simplify the skills system and work with employers to ensure that young people develop the skills most needed for the economy. To deliver the reforms, the Government will work closely with an independent panel, headed by Lord Sainsbury, former Minister of Science and Innovation.