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Tag: 2015

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not hold details centrally of lost stationery items nor does it collect details of the cost to replace lost or stolen items.

    The Department’s official Losses and Special Payments Register has confirmed that there have been no cases of ‘stolen’ stationery reported in the last five fiscal years.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following their failure to notify Tower Hamlets Council that Housing Benefit claimants had been migrated to Universal Credit, how many claimants have been overpaid Housing Benefit by that Council, and what action has been taken to ensure any overpayment recovery action is financially sustainable for those claimants.

    Lord Freud

    DWP is aware of issues raised by Tower Hamlets Council. The Department’s housing costs team have contacted Tower Hamlets to ask for examples so the Department can look into their concerns.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department’s policy is on aid graduation when a country transitions from low to middle income status.

    Justine Greening

    DFID’s allocation of aid to countries is based on a range of criteria, including for example whether a country is classified as low income by the World Bank, current and future poverty levels, the opportunities available to us to reduce these levels through aid spending, and the country’s ability to finance its own development needs. Ministers regularly review which countries receive DFID funding.

  • Chris Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chris Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on ensuring that all government departments have access to a chief scientific advisor.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Chief Scientific Advisers work across departments in partnership with policy makers to ensure the very best in scientific evidence is used in the policy process. Where posts are unfilled, the Government Office for Science works with departments to ensure they have access to relevant expertise and evidence.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 13632, on what dates in September 2015 he met (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) other ministers in HM Treasury to discuss the potential effects in Scotland of a carbon price support exemption scheme.

    David Mundell

    As indicated in my previous answers on this issue, I have had a number of meetings and discussions this year, both formal and informal, on the important issue of opencast restoration and in particular the proposal for a carbon price support exemption. These have included discussions with colleagues from HM Treasury, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Scottish Government and Local Authorities.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    Following settlement of the Cabinet Office Spending Review last week, the allocation of funds to individual workstreams, including for research and development, is underway as part of the department’s business planning process to be completed in the coming months.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Highways England on the appointment of a programme management partner; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The government is tripling the capital investment in the Strategic Road Network. Highways England have been given responsibility for delivery of the Road Investment Strategy and operation of the network.

    A four year term contract was tendered competitively by Highways England to a consortium consisting of CH2M Hill, Mace and PwC (CMP) in early July 2015 to help provide additional support to improve their capability and available resources to deliver an increasingly demanding and complex programme.

    This has no impact on the role, responsibilities and requirements of Highways England.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he made the decision to close 170 local tax offices and replace them with 13 regional centres.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) first shared its transformation plans with its employees 18 months ago. Since then, it has held more than 2,000 events across the UK, talking to its employees about how and why it is changing. HMRC will be holding one-to-one discussions with each of its people to discuss next steps.

  • Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department has given to micro-businesses in adapting to new automatic enrolment pension schemes.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We are committed to supporting small and micro-businesses to adapt to their new automatic enrolment duties. Together with The Pensions Regulator, we have launched a new broadcast-led communications campaign to raise awareness of automatic enrolment amongst small employers.

    The Pensions Regulator has also recently launched a new interactive and simplified online step by step guide to automatic enrolment, designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. Employers using the website can access tailored information relevant to their circumstances. The Pensions Regulator also provides online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller employers to meet their legal duties. To raise awareness and understanding, the Regulator has had over 500 meetings with intermediary firms and spoken at over 300 events around the UK during the last year

    The Regulator sends a series of letters to every employer starting at least 12 months before their staging date, which is the date that the law applies to them. These letters set out what an employer needs to do and by when to comply with the law and signposts to the relevant information on the Regulator’s website.

    To help employers adjust to the costs of automatic enrolment the minimum employer contribution level starts at 1% and increases gradually to 3% by October 2018. In addition, to ensure that all firms have access to quality, low-cost pension provision, The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government and has a public service obligation to accept any employer that chooses NEST for automatic enrolment.

  • Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new social rented homes he plans will be funded by the resources identified for housing in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    Through the Spending Review the Government has committed to investing £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts, doubling our investment from 2018-19.

    This funding includes £1.7 billion for around 100,000 homes for affordable or intermediate rent, which will be delivered between 2015 and 2021.