The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the 1,000 refugees that are to be resettled in the UK by Christmas will be transported to the UK.
Lord Bates
The 1,000 Syrian refugees that we expect to be resettled in the UK before Christmas will be brought to the UK using a combination of scheduled and charter flights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of brownfield land in the Purbeck District Council area has been redesignated as community land trust in the last five years.
Brandon Lewis
The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by community land trusts.
The Department’s annual Green Belt statistics monitor the amount of land designated as Green Belt in England and any changes to the designated area since the previous year. The statistics record the change by local planning authority.
Of the local planning authorities for which information was requested, the following have made changes to the Green Belt in the last five years:
East Dorset reduced the area of designated Green Belt in 2014-15 by 160 hectares to 16,720 hectares, a reduction of 1 per cent; and
Purbeck increased the area of designated Green Belt in 2012-13 by 460 hectares to 8,200 hectares, an increase of 6 per cent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Mackinlay on 2015-11-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people who will become higher rate taxpayers as a result of the provisions of Clause 24 of the Finance Bill 2015 (restriction to Landlords’ interest deductibility) in each year between 2017-18 and 2020-21.
Mr David Gauke
It is assumed that the questions refer to clause 24 of the Summer 2015 Finance Bill: relief for finance costs related to residential property businesses.
15897
The additional taxation receipts arising from restrictions to Landlords’ interest deductibility of the Summer Budget Finance Bill 2015 has been estimated and published in the “Summer Budget 2015: policy costings” page 21:
15898
The number of taxpayers who will become higher rate taxpayers as a result of Clause 24 of the plans to restrict finance cost relief for individual landlords will not be estimated. It would only be possible to provide an estimate for the specific years requested at disproportionate cost.
15899
The number of taxpayers who will become subject to Personal Allowance restrictions as a result of the plans to restrict finance cost relief for individual landlords will not be estimated. It would only be possible to provide an estimate for the specific years requested at disproportionate cost.
15895
No estimate is available of the number of people that will be subject to the provisions of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge as a result of Clause 24 of the Finance Bill 2015. The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the ethnic diversity among pupils of Catholic schools and non-Catholic schools.
Edward Timpson
All schools are subject to the Equality Act 2010 and must comply with the requirements of the Schools Admission Code. The legislation is already available within the Equality Act 2010 and the Admission Code, which ensures schools meet their statutory requirements ensuring that a diverse ethnic group of pupils attend both Catholic and non-Catholic schools.
The department does not conduct comparative assessments of ethnicity diversity among pupils of Catholic schools and non-Catholic schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many hostel places for the homeless there were in (a) London and (b) each London borough on 1 October in each year since 2008.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Department does not hold information regarding the number of places in hostels for rough sleepers in London. It is for London boroughs to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area, including provision of suitable accommodation.
This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why since 2010 we have invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England. In London, we have given the Mayor £34 million to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, with an extra £8.5 million for this work in 2015/16.
We have supported local areas, including London, to improve the quality of hostels through the Homelessness Change Programme, which provided £42.5 million of capital funding in 2012 – 2015 for new and refurbished bed spaces and facilities to provide meaningful activities to supporta pathway to independent living. For 2015 – 2017, the Department of Health will make available funding for local areas, including London, to invest in tailored hostel accommodation to improve the physical and mental health of rough sleepers, and successful partnership bids will be announced shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the illegal transport of farmed puppies from the Republic of Ireland and southern Europe into the UK.
George Eustice
All movements of puppies into the UK that are not covered by the Pet Travel Scheme are subject to the provisions of the Council Directive 92/65/EEC (Balai Directive). This is implemented by the Trade in Animal and Related Products Regulations 2011. Commercial movements of puppies may be subject to a post-import check at the place of final destination by the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
Responsibility for enforcing the Trade in Animal and Related Products Regulations 2011 falls to local authorities. They are also responsible for enforcing welfare in transport legislation which makes it an offence for anyone to transport animals or cause animals to be transported in a way likely to cause injury or unnecessary suffering to them.
The act of smuggling puppies in contravention of the animal health and welfare requirements may give rise to the commission of a number of different criminal offences depending on the circumstances of the illegal import. Defra is working with interested parties with a particular interest in improving the collection, analysis and use of intelligence relating to this illegal trade. We are also aware that some EU countries, such as the Republic of Ireland, have recently tightened up their regulatory requirements for puppy breeding, which we hope will also have a positive impact on the problem of illegal trade.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the level of financial reserves of local authorities.
Mr Marcus Jones
Local authorities are responsible for managing their own finances. They are required by statute to have regard to the level of reserves needed for meeting estimated future expenditure when calculating their annual budget requirement.
In making their assessment, they must have regard to the good practice guidance produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
Where authorities have maintained significant revenue reserves, this will give them room to manoeuvre on their finances in future years.
Authorities should consider dipping into their revenue reserves where it can be sensible to provide and protect front line services for local tax payers.
My Department publishes statistics on the level of reserves held by each authority, based on reports from them, which are available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of finance options available to student nurses; and if he will make a statement.
Ben Gummer
From 1 August 2017, new nursing, midwifery and allied health students will no longer receive NHS bursaries. Instead, they will have access to the same student loans system as other students.
We intend that students studying nursing, midwifery and the allied health subjects as a second degree will also be able to get student loans.
The change will only affect new students commencing their courses from 1 August 2017.
We plan to run a consultation in early 2016 to ask how we can successfully deliver the reforms.
Under the loans system, students on nursing, midwifery and allied health courses will receive around a 25% increase in the financial support available to them for living costs. The precise change for individuals will be dependent on their circumstances – for example, where they study, the length of the course, income and residency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to provide additional support for ex-servicemen and women and their families.
Mark Lancaster
The Career Transition Partership (CTP) contract for Service personnel was re-let on 1 October 2015; for the first time, CTP pulls all elements of transition support under one mechanism so that every Service leaver, regardless of time-served or reason for departure, has access to transition support. In addition, using the CTP contract mechanism, Joint Forces Command and the Royal Air Force are running an initial two year Spouse Employment Support trial offering a limited number of places for eligible Service spouses to access tailored employment support at selected locations.
Spousal support is mirrored in wider initiatives, such as the Wolverhampton University business startup course. Originally funded for a two year period by the Armed Forces Covenant (LIBOR) funding, HSBC have provided additional funding to extend the project. It is a 10 month business start-up and mentoring programme designed specifically for Armed Forces families. Current funding will provide 540 places between now and 2020.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD)has announced the development of a Families Strategy, in coordination with families and the 3rd Sector, during its annual Welfare Conference on 9 November 2015. At the same event, the Secretary of State welcomed Barclay’s Veterans Employment Transition Support (VETS) programme, which was launched on 19 November 2015 following an initial trial period; this is due to provide mentoring, training and advice to veterans. A partnership of leading companies and charities, it will support the MOD and CTP with additional avenues of support to help veterans and Service leavers.
As part of the Armed Forces Covenant, the Covenant Reference Group (CRG) chaired by the Cabinet Office includes representatives from all of the main Government Departments. The CRG meets regularly to guide and direct work on the Armed Forces Covenant, including support for the veteran community. Other members of the CRG include the three Service Families Federations, the Confederation of Service Charities and other Armed Forces charities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Government plans to phase increases to funding for NHS England over the next five years; and what the Barnett consequentials of decisions on such phasing will be.
Alistair Burt
The Spending Review announced on 25 November the level of funding that the NHS in England would receive by 2020-21. The NHS will be receiving £10 billion more per year in real terms by 2020-21 than in 2014-15, which fully funds the NHS’ own plan – the ‘Five Year Forward View’. £6 billion of that £10 billion will be delivered by 2016-17. This is set out in the attached table.
The exact budget profile for NHS England will be set out in the Mandate to NHS England, due to be published shortly.
Under the Barnett Formula, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive a population-based proportion of changes in planned spending on comparable United Kingdom Government services in England. Changes in each devolved administration’s spending allocation, is determined by:
– the quantity of the change in planned spending in departments of the United Kingdom Government; and
– the extent to which the relevant United Kingdom programme is comparable with the services carried out by each devolved administration and each country’s population proportion.
The allocation of public expenditure between the services, including health, under the control of the devolved administrations is for the devolved administrations to determine.