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Tag: 2015

  • Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Griffiths on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children in families on the troubled families programme were classified as in need in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Greg Clark

    My Department does not hold information on specific numbers of children classified as ‘Child in Need’ on the current Troubled Families Programme.

    However, for the original Troubled Families Programme, which ran from 2012 – 2015, it was estimated that 23% of families contained one or more children with a Child in Need status.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by when the Government expects to have compiled a list of all people eligible to receive payments as a result of the decision by the Pensions Ombudsman in the case of Mr. W. Milne.

    Greg Hands

    Payments to individuals affected by the ruling are being administered by relevant fire and rescue authorities and police forces. I understand that authorities have identified all affected individuals and are in the process of calculating the payments due. This Government is committed to ensuring a timely resolution to this issue.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of the National Grid’s assumption of electricity supply from interconnectors increasing from 0GW to 1GW of electricity at the same time as electricity margins on the continent shrink on the UK being able to import electricity at times of peak demand.

    Andrea Leadsom

    National Grid makes an assessment of the extent to which all GB interconnectors can be relied upon to provide electricity to GB when needed. The assumptions around electricity imports are informed by an assessment of connected markets, including consideration of their electricity margins, the wider network to which they are connected and the chance of coincident scarcity with the connected markets.

    Beyond these market arrangements, should GB need additional support, it is also possible for National Grid as the System Operator to call upon interconnectors at a time of system stress.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether part-time students applying for maintenance support from 2018-19 will continue to be eligible for benefits.

    Joseph Johnson

    Eligibility criteria and specific rules of the scheme will be set out as part of the consultation.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce in the rest of the UK the General Licence Restriction Order for the protection of birds in use in Scotland; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    The introduction of a new regulatory measure requires evidence that it will be effective.

    We will monitor the situation in Scotland to consider whether this measure is necessary and proportionate to assist in tackling wildlife crime in England.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2015 to Question 702, how much has been paid to political candidates (a) in each region, (b) of each political party, (c) of each gender and (d) of each ethnic group from the Access to Elected Office Fund to date.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The number of people who have applied to the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund is in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Number of applicants (some applicants made more than one application)

    2012/13

    27

    2013/14

    34

    2014/15

    48

    The total amount claimed by successful applicants was £271,260 (out of awards totalling £418,733)

    An evaluation of the pilot fund is currently being undertaken and will be published in due course. An announcement regarding the future of the fund is anticipated early in 2016.

    The information on regional breakdown of expenditure and the diversity of candidates can be found in the tables below:

    Region (location of election seat)

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    East Midlands

    1,099

    East of England

    480

    Greater London

    89,399

    North East England

    4,382

    North West England

    20,567

    South East England

    69,474

    South West England

    21,260

    West Midlands

    20,281

    Yorkshire and Humberside

    17,882

    Total (rounded)

    271,260

    Political Party

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    Conservative

    32,361

    Democracy 2015

    350

    Green

    5,791

    Labour

    120,846

    Liberal Democrat

    32,601

    Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

    276

    UKIP

    53,236

    Independent

    25,798

    Total (rounded)

    271,260

    Gender

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    Male

    139,524

    Female

    131,736

    Total

    271,260

    Ethnic Group

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    White; all backgrounds

    218,117

    Mixed ethnic origin

    1,348

    Asian; all backgrounds

    26,680

    Black/African/Caribbean/Black British

    22,977

    Other ethnic group

    350

    Prefer not to say

    1,788

    Total

    271,260

  • Margaret Hodge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the time taken for the Turks and Caicos Islands to respond to his Department’s consultation on a public register of beneficial ownership.

    James Duddridge

    I refer the Right Honourable Lady to the answer given by my Hon Friend the member for Hertfordshire South West (David Gauke), the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to questions 10437, 10438 and 10448, which sets out the criteria we expect the Overseas Territories to meet in relation to their central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system.

    We are in discussions with the Turks and Caicos Islands authorities on this and are offering technical assistance as they develop their proposals.

  • Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of the communication between Ministers and officials in his Department about NHS England’s decision to change the amount of NHS performance data published the Winter Daily Situation Reports for 2015-16.

    Jane Ellison

    In line with previous requests of this nature, copies of communications on this issue are not proposed to be placed in the Library, as all communications from officials were for the purpose of providing advice to ministers for their consideration and deliberation. Releasing this information would be likely to inhibit the continued free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation.

    Based on clinical advice from the NHS England National Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh, the Secretary of State agreed with the recommendation to standardise reporting arrangements. The recommendation came from Sir Bruce Keogh’s review of waiting time standards published in June 2015. The overall approach was agreed in September by the respective chief executives of NHS England, TDA and Monitor with the Secretary of State for Health.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times for therapeutic services through referral pathways was for sexual assault referral centres which do not directly provide therapeutic services for children under 18 in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has set out care pathways for adult and child Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services in its `Commissioning Framework for Adult and Paediatric Sexual Assault referral Centre (SARC) Services’, published in August 2015. Pathway services are wide-ranging, including safeguarding, social care, housing, other medical support and therapeutic counselling. The framework is now being rolled out across England and outlines the expected core service.

    Data on waiting times into care pathways or therapeutic services in SARCs or referred to by SARCs, is not collected centrally.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK aid is being provided in each region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The DRC is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the provinces are bigger than other DFID focus countries and there is a huge difference between the mineral-rich plains of Katanga in the south and the tropical rainforests of Equateur in the north, between the conflict-affected east and the megacity of Kinshasa in the west.

    Our current approach to working in provinces was shaped in 2012. At that time we decided to focus on six strategic partnership provinces – North Kivu, South Kivu, Kasai Occidental, Katanga, Equateur and Kinshasa. Of these, our greatest area of focus has been the conflict-affected east of the country, which receives one third of our budget and hosts our only sub-national office in Goma. DFID programme design also takes into account need, geographic and logistical constraints, conflict, political issues, and presence of other donors. Whilst we increasingly focussed on the six provinces, we deliberately preserved some flexibility. Some activities, for example addressing humanitarian crises, do not observe provincial borders.

    The regional picture in the DRC became more complex in September 2015 as the country’s 11 provinces were divided into 26, in a process called decoupage. In response to this radical change in the country’s geography, DFID DRC is reappraising its provincial focus and calculating its contribution in each province. The new approach will be set out in DFID DRC’s refreshed country business plan in May 2016.