The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many private hire vehicle drivers have been arrested in (a) London and (b) the UK for offences related to plying for hire in each of the last five years.
Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of private hire vehicle drivers arrested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made for the electrification of the South TransPennine route between Sheffield and Manchester.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Network Rail is currently updating its national electrification strategy taking into account Sir Peter Hendy’s Report on Network Rail’s 2014-2019 rail enhancements portfolio and the recommendations of the North of England Electrification Task Force. The Task Force placed the South TransPennine route in the second tier of lines it recommended for future electrification. The updated strategy will be subject to public consultation during 2016 and inform the Government’s Rail Investment Strategy for 2019-2024.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November to Question 13665, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the proposal from High Speed UK on high speed rail.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The proposals suggested by High Speed UK are similar to the Reverse ‘E’ considered by HS2 Ltd in their 2010 report submitted to the Government on the demand and business case analysis of the alternative proposals. It was considered that this proposal could not offer better journey times from London/Birmingham to Manchester/Liverpool than HS2 trains continuing to the north-west from Lichfield via the West Coast Main Line. The Environmental Statement for the Proposed Scheme, which was prepared to accompany the deposit of the Bill, addressed the history of route alternatives and our ongoing consultation and engagement. Ministers considered the advice presented and views from a wide range of sources, and based on the evidence the decision was taken to proceed with the ‘Y’ shaped network.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Written Statement of 2 June 2015, HCWS10, on the trading plan for government shares in Lloyds Banking Group, whether he set a target for the (a) number of shares to be sold and (b) price per share for Lloyds Banking Group at the time of that Statement.
Harriett Baldwin
In December 2014 the Chancellor launched a trading plan to sell the Government’s stake in Lloyds Banking Group, which has since been extended twice; in June and December 2015. The number of shares sold over the course of the trading plan is subject to an overall volume limit of up to but no more than 15% of the aggregate total trading volume in the LBG over the duration of the trading plan.
The final amount sold will depend on market conditions, among other factors. Shares will not be sold below the average price the previous government paid for them, which was 73.6p.
As outlined to the House at the time of the trading plan’s launch, a statement with further details will be laid before Parliament when the plan concludes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times he has (a) met and (b) corresponded with a minister of the Welsh Government on the draft Wales Bill in the last 12 months.
Priti Patel
The Wales Office is the lead Government department on the draft Wales Bill, and is the primary point of contact with the Welsh Government on matters related to the draft Bill.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the current threat from international terrorism to be downgraded from severe.
Mr John Hayes
The UK terrorism threat level is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC). JTAC operates independently of Ministers and considers all relevant information to assess the threat from international terrorism. Its judgements are made on the basis of the latest intelligence, and it keeps the threat level under constant review.
The current threat level is SEVERE, meaning that an attack is highly likely. Members of the public should remain alert to the danger of terrorism, but they should not let the fear of terrorism stop them from going about their day-to-day life as normal.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2015-11-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ringfence spending on the Homelessness Prevention Grant until 2020 in the Spending Review.
Greg Hands
From 2013-14 support for preventing homelessness has been included in the annual Local Government Finance Settlement, split between Revenue Support Grant and estimated retained business rates.
Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates are not ring-fenced. It is up to individual authorities to decide how grant funding should be spent in order to deliver local services.
The Chancellor will set out full details of the Spending Review on Wednesday 25 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much has been allocated to Syria under the (a) Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and (b) Conflict Pool in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) the next four financial years.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund has allocated £55 million to Syria for the current financial year. Funding for the next four financial years has not yet been agreed by the National Security Council. The UK has delivered over £100m in non-humanitarian support to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon since the start of the crisis from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and its predecessor, the Conflict Pool. This has focussed on strengthening the moderate opposition, building resilience against extremists, fostering civil society structures in besieged areas, promoting Human Rights, delivering basic governance and laying the foundations for a more peaceful and inclusive future for Syria. Further details of this can be found on the Gov.uk website. The UK has always punched above its weight in helping deal with the effects of the Syria crisis. That’s why the Prime Minister announced that we will commit at least £1 billion to reconstruction in Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2015 to Question 428, what progress has been made in ensuring funding from the Armed Forces Covenant (Libor) Fund is distributed across the UK; and which organisations in each region of the UK have benefited from that fund to date.
Mark Lancaster
Further to my answer of 2 June 2015 to Question 428 which detailed the information held centrally by the Ministry of Defence. The final project under the Veterans Accommodation Fund (VAF) was announced on 20 July 2015 and that was for £50,000 to the RAF Benevolent Fund, for replacement windows at Forge House in England. The £40 million VAF and the £35 million LIBOR Fund have now closed.
This year saw the implementation of a permanent commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant through a £10 million per annum Covenant Fund, and will be ring-fenced from the UK Defence Budget. Assessments of the first-round of small grants (up to £20,000) are currently taking place and those selected will be announced around the New Year. The deadline for the second round of applications is 17 December 2015.
The deadline for expressions of interest for the large grant scheme (£20,000 to £500,000) has now closed. Those projects accepted for round two will also be informed by 26 November 2015, the deadline for stage two applications is 13 January 2016 with stage two decisions communicated by 10 March 2016.
Although we welcome applications from across the whole of the UK, these will be selected on the basis of defined criteria. The selection panel is made up of MOD officials, sector experts and representatives from each of the Devolved Administrations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies (a) in general and (b) on road safety of each region’s road users’ satisfaction survey published by Highways England on 11 December 2015.
Andrew Jones
The recently published National Road Survey Satisfaction Survey is based on responses from interviews of approximately 2,000 road users per annum. The results are analysed on an ongoing basis and provide insight to inform the development of Highways England‘s work.
We aim to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year. We have been working closely with road safety groups to consider what more can be done and expect to publish our Road Safety Statement shortly. The Road Safety Statement will set out the high level plan and overarching approach to road safety that we expect to take over the rest of the Parliament, and will be followed by a series of more detailed proposals and consultations.
Highways England has recently announced their new road safety ambition that no one shall be harmed while working or travelling on the network. In support of this, they have launched their 5 year Health and Safety Plan which contains specific actions relating to road safety.