The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which datasets have been regularly compiled by his Department for (a) 10 years or more and (b) 15 years or more.
Justin Tomlinson
The information requested is not currently available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with water companies on using the proposed High Speed 2 corridor as a route for transferring water from the north of England to London; and if she will make a statement.
Rory Stewart
The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with water companies or made any specific assessment relating to water transfers along the High Speed 2 corridor. No such project was proposed during the last round of water company water resources management plans.
Defra and the Environment Agency are now working with all water companies to ensure that they consider the range of options for balancing future supply and demand in their next update to their plans to be published in 2019. This includes looking at bulk transfers between companies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames on 2015-10-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) complaints, and (2) claims, were submitted to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in each year from 2010 to 2014 inclusive.
Lord Bates
The numbers of new cases received by the independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal each year are published on the Tribunal’s website at: http://www.ipt-uk.com/section.aspx?pageid=5 .
The numbers of complaints and claims for the years 2010 to 2014 are as follows.
|
Year |
Human Rights Claims |
Complaints |
Both |
Total |
|
2010 |
49 |
40 |
75 |
164 |
|
2011 |
46 |
46 |
88 |
180 |
|
2012 |
37 |
52 |
79 |
168 |
|
2013 |
58 |
67 |
80 |
205 |
|
2014 |
58 |
60 |
97 |
215 |
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal does not collate the information about the average length of time from a complaint or claim being submitted to the announcement of a ruling. The cases received by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal vary in scope and complexity. Each case is considered on its own merits and receives appropriate legal scrutiny.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding the Government has committed to provide to (a) projects and (b) the government in Bahrain in each financial year from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We support Bahrain’s ambitious reform programmes and will provide in the region of £2.1 million of funding in support of projects aimed at strengthening human rights and the rule of law in 2015-16. The allocations for subsequent financial years to 2019/20 have not yet been agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2015-10-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the claim by the Chief Constable of Cumbria that the proposed changes in the funding formula for police forces mean that forces could be reduced to a blue light” emergency response service
Lord Bates
We are currently refining the proposed police funding model in light of responses to the public consultation and continue to engage with Police and Crime Commissioners and forces as part of this process. The model will not be finalised until we have considered further feedback from policing partners. Allocations for individual force areas have not been set and no decisions on funding will be made until the Spending Review reports in November.
The proposed model uses objective indicators to allocate funding according to relative need. We consider this approach to be a fairer and more transparent method of allocating limited resources in comparison to the current complex, opaque and out of date formula.
Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, in line with the local priorities set by their Police and Crime Commissioner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his strategy is for engaging with NHS leaders, clinical staff and managers in the implementation of the Accelerated Access Review.
George Freeman
The Accelerated Access Review (AAR), chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include certain off-patent repurposed drugs, as opposed to the routine availability of medicines or medical technologies.
Prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR, the Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS including the Innovation, Health and Wealth report. As a result, building upon the lessons of previous reviews is explicit with the terms of reference of the AAR.
The AAR has regular meetings with senior officials from NHS England via a steering group as recommendations are being developed. In addition, some staff from NHS England have been assigned to support the review team.
Sir Hugh is still in the process of developing final recommendations which will be published in spring 2016. In his Interim Report published in October, Sir Hugh sets out a proposition on “galvanising the NHS”. This involves supporting the NHS to adopt innovation, more rapidly through better practical support, stronger incentives and the potential streamlining of local structures.
The Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR. It was clear that whilst progress has been made on the uptake of innovation in the NHS there is still much to do. Sir Hugh and the head of the External Advisory Group, Professor Sir John Bell, set out the case for uptake of innovation in the recently published AAR Interim Report.
The AAR has senior level contact with officials working on Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency to ensure that information is shared between the two teams.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-10-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they will give to the advice of bodies that have expressed concerns about the Right to Rent provision of the Immigration Bill.
Lord Bates
The Government has always been clear that the Right to Rent scheme would be rolled out across the country after phase one in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton. The Prime Minister committed to do so in May this year. Home Office Science has carried out an evaluation of phase one. The findings of the evaluation have now been published and are informing implementation of the roll out of the scheme.
The evaluation was overseen by an expert panel consisting of representatives from landlords and letting agents associations, housing charities, local authorities and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to enable concerns about the operation of the scheme to be taken into account.
The Home Office evaluation reported on mystery shopping research, conducted by independent contractors. This found that there were no major differences in prospective tenants’ access to accommodation between the Right to Rent phase one area and comparator areas, where the scheme was not running.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to provide further financial support to police forces that have been rated as outstanding for efficiency by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Mike Penning
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have found that there is no simple link between funding and efficiency. As the Home Secretary has previously set out, it is often the need to make savings that drives innovation and change for the better.
In future, we believe that the allocation of core Government funding to the police should be on the basis of relative need, and that is why the Government has committed to replacing the current, outdated arrangements.
HMIC set out in their latest PEEL inspection report (October 2015), that there remain significant efficiencies to be delivered from ICT, collaboration and improving workforce capability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of (1) Israelis, and (2) Palestinians, killed and wounded in sectarian violence in the last year; and whether they are making representations to the parties concerned.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government has not made any estimates of the number of people who have been killed and wounded.
As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said in a press statement on 9 October, “We condemn all acts of violence, including attacks by Palestinians and by Israeli settlers. We urge all sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation”. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs website, from 1 January 2014 to 19 October 2015 there were 2373 Palestinian fatalities and 23,442 injured. In that same period of time there were 98 Israeli fatalities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the New Stations Fund has made towards increasing the housing supply.
Claire Perry
The New Station Fund has already delivered two new stations at Pye Corner in Wales and Newcourt in Devon. Three more new stations will be delivered as part of the fund at Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Lea Bridge in London and Kenilworth in Warwickshire. All of these new stations will be a catalyst for new housing as they make transport easier between communities and employment. Specifically the stations at: