The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the London Olympic council tax precept (a) has raised in each year of its existence and (b) is predicted to raise in the remaining years of its existence.
Mr Marcus Jones
The information requested is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what extra funding will be made available to deliver seven day services in the NHS; and when such funding will be made available.
Ben Gummer
The Spending Review provided the National Health Service in England £10 billion per annum additional funding in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2014-15, with £3.8 billion real terms growth in 2016-17. This fully funds the NHS’s own Five Year Forward View and will enable it to deliver services seven days a week by 2020. Local NHS organisations will need to plan how they can most effectively and efficiently deliver seven day services within the overall funding available to them. Further details will be set out in the coming weeks as the mandate to NHS England is published, followed by funding allocations to clinical commissioning groups, the publication of planning guidance for the NHS and consultation on tariff prices for providers of NHS services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that the advertising of sports betting alongside televised sporting events is only broadcast after the 9pm watershed.
Tracey Crouch
Televisedgamblingadvertising in the UK is governed by the Advertising Codes which are maintained by the Broadcast Committee for Advertising Practice. This is supplemented by a self-regulatory industry code, the Industry Code for Socially ResponsibleGambling.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the level of co-ordination with other governmental agencies and departments to prevent the trade of puppies through UK ports.
James Brokenshire
Border Force works with and supports the lead department – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – which is responsible for imports of live animals, including puppies. Border Force meets regularly with Defra to exchange ideas and explore opportunities for increased cooperation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the average cost to a (a) school and (b) local authority of employing a (i) teacher and (ii) classroom assistant; and what forecast she has made of that cost in each year from 2016-17 to 2019-20.
Nick Gibb
The government published a statistical release in July 2015, ‘School Workforce in England: November 2014’, which contains the latest statistics on average salaries for teachers employed by schools and local authorities in England. This release can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014
The latest available statistics on the average salaries of teaching assistants employed by schools and local authorities in England were published in response to PQ856 in June 2015. This can be found online at: www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-02/856/
The Department for Education’s pay reforms have given schools greater flexibility to decide how much to pay their teachers and how quickly their pay progresses over time.
Future average salaries of teachers will be informed by the annual recommendations of the School Teachers Pay Review Body. The pay of teaching assistants and school support staff are set by schools themselves. The department does not produce forecasts of future average pay for these staff.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil servants in her Department are in the redeployment pool.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID has 10 staff at present in its redeployment pool of staff who have become surplus due to the role they were filling either having been discontinued, or it having been confirmed to them that their role will be discontinued.
For those whose roles have already been discontinued (5 staff), temporary work has been found whilst we continue to look for more appropriate longer term positions for them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Miller on 2015-11-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the objectives and value of the Landfill Communities Fund; what assessment he has made of progress in the reform process of that fund; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
Since its introduction in 1996, the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) has contributed over £1.4bn to community projects in areas affected by a local landfill site, it has a significant impact on the communities that benefit. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces the Government’s tax revenues and we therefore have an ongoing responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer.
An HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) consultation on proposals to reform the LCF closed on 10 June. The proposals were designed to improve the flow of LCF money to communities. This is because large amounts of unspent funds – worth twice the annual value of the LCF – had accumulated. The proposals were developed by a government-sector working group including representatives of landfill site operators and those receiving LCF funding.
HMRC are currently reviewing responses to the consultation on the reform proposals, and will publish a response document in due course. Any changes to the LCF will take into account the views of those who responded. However, it is also important that those involved in the sector show they are willing to make changes to ensure that money reaches communities quickly and effectively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what country is responsible for the co-ordination of ground troops; and which coalition countries have agreed to the methodology referred to.
Michael Fallon
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 1 December 2015 to Question 17826 to the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the government of Somalia in preparations for elections in that country in 2016; and what assistance the UK has offered for those preparations.
James Duddridge
We are in regular discussions with the Federal Government of Somalia on the electoral process in 2016. The UK also co-chairs, with the Federal Government of Somalia, the elections working group set up under Somalia’s New Deal Compact, supporting preparations for the 2016 electoral process. At the UN General Assembly in September, My Right Honourable Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron), the Prime Minister, discussed progress towards an inclusive electoral process with the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as did My Right Honourable Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) Minister of State in the Department for International Development, with Prime Minister Omar Abdullah Sharmarke. Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Somalia attended the National Consultative Forum recently convened by the Federal Government of Somalia to discuss electoral preparations. In the UN Security Council, the UK is working to ensure that Somalia remains a high priority and that there is a coordinated international position in support of the electoral process in Somalia in 2016. The UK provides funding to the UN election support programme in Somalia through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund. This channels support to Somalia’s National Consultative Forum and National Independent Electoral Commission. The UK is also working in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support a nationwide civic education programme that would last for 5 years and would cover all elections in Somalia, both local and national, during that time. The UK provides funding to the UN election support programme in Somalia through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund. This channels support to Somalia’s National Consultative Forum and National Independent Electoral Commission. The UK is also working in partnership with USAID to support a nationwide civic education programme that would last for 5 years and would cover all elections in Somalia, both local and national, during that time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many local housing allowance rates were set (a) at the 30th percentile, (b) within five per cent of the 30th percentile, (c) between five per cent and 10 per cent of the 30th percentile and (d) more than 10 per cent below the 30th percentile of market rents in the relevant broad market rental area in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13, (iii) 2013-14 and (iv) 2014-15.
Justin Tomlinson
In 2011-12, LHA rates were uprated on a monthly basis. Of the 960 LHA rates in Great Britain, in April 2011, 949 LHA rates were set at the 30th percentile and by March 2012, 943 LHA rates were set at the 30th percentile. The remaining LHA rates were set at the level of the caps.
From 2012-13 LHA rates were set annually. For the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, the following table gives the number of LHA rates set (a) at the 30th percentile, (b) within five per cent of the 30th percentile, (c) between five per cent and 10 per cent below the 30th percentile and (d) more than 10 per cent below the 30th percentile of market rents in the relevant Broad Rental Market Area.
So for example, if the 30th percentile for a Broad Rental Market Area and property size is £200 per week (pw), the corresponding LHA rate would be included in (b) if it is greater than £190pw and less than £200pw, in (c) if it is between £180pw and £190pw, and in (d) if it is less than £180pw.
|
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
|
(a) 30th percentile |
943 |
695 |
475 |
|
(b) less than five per cent below the 30th percentile |
6 |
228 |
416 |
|
(c) between five per cent and 10 per cent below the 30th percentile |
2 |
26 |
42 |
|
(d) more than 10 per cent below the 30th percentile |
9 |
11 |
27 |