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Tag: 2015

  • 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 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the under-occupancy penalty on people with disabilities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    People with disabilities are entitled to an extra bedroom for non-resident overnight carers and disabled children who are unable to share with another child.

    Since 2013, we have provided local authorities with £470 million in Discretionary Housing Payments funding. This has enabled local authorities to give additional support to claimants where appropriate. This includes £175 million specifically for those affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy, of which £75 million is for those living in significantly adapted properties.

    We will continue to provide additional support through Discretionary Housing Payments and have made a further £800 million in DHP funding available for the next 5 years of this Parliament.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver shortage in the most recent four time periods for which figures are available.

    Claire Perry

    Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.

    Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

    Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

    Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

    Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

    Full cancellations

    1093

    1331

    723

    706

    Part cancellations

    458

    410

    406

    411

    Total

    1551

    1741

    1129

    1117

    The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.

  • 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 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of the independent living fund have had that funding reduced following the transfer of that fund to local authorities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government believes that local authorities are best placed to provide for the care needs of people in their local community. The Care Act 2014 introduced stringent minimum standards for this care and it is within this context that local authorities took over responsibility for the care and support of former Independent Living Fund users from 1st July 2015.

    The government has fully-funded them to meet their additional obligations for the remainder of the 2015/16 financial year, but does not hold information on the care packages of individual former users. It has, however, committed to conducting research on the impact of the Fund’s closure and has already identified a sample of former users who have agreed to participate.

  • Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of UK seafarer (a) ratings and (b) officers were employed on non-UK registered vessels that qualified for the tonnage tax scheme in each year since 2000-01.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Statistical estimates for the number of UK nationals employed as seafarers are available for calendar years from 2002 onwards. Data for 2015 is not yet available. Tonnage tax companies are required annually to inform the Department of the numbers of UK seafarers employed on their ships, as at 1 October each year. The table attached gives an extrapolation of these figures to estimate the number and percentage of UK seafarer ratings and officers who were employed on non-UK registered vessels entered in the tonnage tax in each year from 2002 to 2014.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional contribution in cash terms they expect the NHS to make to the NHS Pension Scheme in 2016–17.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The NHS Pension Scheme is a ‘pay as you go’ pension scheme without financial assets. The last valuation in 2012 identified a deficit of £10.3 billion in the notional fund which is met by contributions from employers.

    No additional contribution is expected from the National Health Service in 2016-17. NHS employers will continue to pay the standard employer contribution rate of 14.3%.

  • Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in how many cases since July 2013 employment tribunal fees have been remitted, and at what cost to the public purse.

    Lord Faulks

    Since July 2013 and until the period of June 2015, around 11,000 cases have had fees remitted in employment tribunal cases at a total estimated cost of funding fee remissions of £4.9m. This information is published on the Government website.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed with the government of the United States the collection of UK citizens’ data through the PRISM programme, and if so, with what result.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    It is the long-standing policy of successive Governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence. This includes discussions with allies and liaison agencies.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 December (HL3987), for each of the last five years and this year so far, (1) how many children who are dependants of British citizens and persons who are living legally in the UK have made asylum claims to the French authorities; (2) how many of those have been accepted; and (3) of those, how many have subsequently been reunited with their parents or other responsible family members in the UK.

    Lord Bates

    The UK does not hold statistical information of the number of asylum applications made in France by dependent children of British citizens or persons living legally in the UK or how many of these applications have been accepted by the French. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties are not routinely recorded.

    We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. This is subject to an applicant first claiming asylum in France. If they do not wish to claim asylum, individual migrants in France as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the role of LPG autogas in helping to improve urban air quality.

    Rory Stewart

    While no formal assessment of the impact of LPG has been made by the Department, Defra officials met with representatives of the LPG industry during the consultation period for the draft UK Air Quality Plans.

    Industry data shows that retrofitting older diesel cars and vans to run on LPG can reduce emissions of NOx (oxides of nitrogen) and particulate matter whilst producing CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions between those of equivalent diesel and petrol engines. This solution was used by some drivers to enable them to enter the London Low Emission Zone without charge. Retrofitting to use LPG can also be a cheaper option for drivers than replacing their vehicle with a newer model.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many officials within the Department for Transport they expect to be working as part of the team liaising with Network Rail in 2016–17, 2017–18, and 2018–19.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    A large number of staff within the Department for Transport’s Rail Executive liaise with Network Rail on a wide range of policy, delivery and operational issues – it is not possible to state an exact number as these staff also have other responsibilities. A team of seven officials currently handles issues specifically arising from Network Rail’s reclassification to the public sector in September 2014. Future resourcing will remain responsive to business needs and is not pre-planned over these years.