The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect that congestion in urban areas is having on the cost and attractiveness of bus travel to travellers.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Department for Transport has not conducted a specific assessment of the effect that congestion in urban areas is having on the cost and attractiveness of bus travel to travellers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications by grandparents for rights of access to their grandchildren there were in each year since 2010.
Caroline Dinenage
Under the Children Act 1989 the court may make a child arrangements order to determine with whom a child is to live or spend time. Prior to 22nd April 2014 such orders were called contact and residence orders. The Department collates figures on the numbers of applications made by grandparents for child arrangements orders and the figures for such applications since 2010 are shown below.
Number of child arrangement (contact) order applications made by grandparents in England and Wales
|
Year |
Applications by grandparents |
|
2011 |
2403 |
|
2012 |
2574 |
|
2013 |
2755 |
|
2014 |
1624 |
|
2015 – 3 quarters only |
1335 |
Unlike parents, grandparents and other family members can only make an application for a child arrangements orders with the permission of the court. The requirement to apply for the court’s permission is not designed to be an obstacle to grandparents, or other close relatives, but to act as a filter to sift out those applications that are clearly not in the child’s best interests. Experience suggests that grandparents (or other interested relatives) would not usually experience difficulty in obtaining permission where their application is motivated by a genuine concern for the child.
The Department does not collate figures on applications for a child arrangements order where the court’s permission has been sought. This information could only be obtained by manually checking each case file at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the Department does not collate figures centrally on family members named in a child arrangements order. Details of the numbers of child arrangements orders issued specifically for grandparents to see their grandchildren could only be obtained by checking each file at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the recent findings of Antibiotic Research UK about the possibility of a significant surge in winter antibiotic prescriptions; and what assessment they have made of whether government action is required.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The findings of Antibiotic Research UK are consistent with the data included in the most recent report on English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance published on the 16 November 2015. In the winter of 2014 there was a 16.7% increase in antibiotic prescribing in general practice compared to the summer months.
Public Health England is working to implement the UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and as part of this work our surveillance teams are monitoring the seasonality of antibiotic prescribing. It is unclear currently, whether the rise of prescribing in winter months is due solely to the increase in infections or whether some prescribing is inappropriate.
In response to increased usage of antibiotics in winter months, public facing campaigns such as Stay Well This Winter, run by NHS England, take place to increase public awareness of inappropriate prescribing amongst other seasonal concerns.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on proposals for an independent body to regulate the car insurance industry.
Andrew Jones
There are no proposals for a new independent body to regulate the car insurance industry.
Motor insurers are regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what non-disclosure agreements the Department for Constitutional Affairs made in 2003–04, and on what date each agreement was made.
Lord Faulks
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Ministry of Justice is the successor department to the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Searches have been conducted for the information requested. These searches have revealed no trace of any records that relate to such non-disclosure agreements, nor any references to records that were held previously and destroyed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will exempt adults with disabilities whose partner is unable to share the same bedroom due to that disability from the under-occupancy penalty.
Justin Tomlinson
The Courts recently accepted that disability in itself does not mean that couples are unable to share a bedroom and administering an exemption would be extremely challenging.
Instead, to help people with difficult situations, the Government has provided additional Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding. Since the introduction of this policy DHP funding has been as follows:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to encourage investment in improvement of the environment as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Greg Hands
The Chancellor will set out the next steps in his plans for the Northern Powerhouse and investment in the environment in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review on 25 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2015-12-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Access to Work scheme can fund, or help fund, the installation of a disabled toilet in a workplace.
Baroness Altmann
Access to Work is able to help with adaptations to Premises and Equipment.
In all cases where adaptations to premises are required, advisers will look to see what reasonable adjustment has first been made in accordance with employers obligations under the Equality Act.
Dependent on the size of the business, an employer contribution may also be sought.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the files held at Swadlincote that are subject to the Public Records Act 1958 have been (a) assessed by and (b) released to the National Archive.
Mark Lancaster
All Ministry of Defence (MOD) records held at Swadlincote that are subject to the Public Records Acts have been assessed for ongoing business or potential historical value. More than one third of the files at Swadlincote have been selected for transfer to The National Archives. These are largely military service records, which The National Archives has identified as being required for permanent preservation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howe of Idlicote on 2015-12-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation of Barnardo’s in the recent report Locked Out: Children’s experiences of visiting a parent in prison, that visits by children to fathers in prison should be removed from the incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme.
Lord Faulks
The Government agrees that strong family ties are an important part of helping prisoners turn away from crime, and the recommendations from the recent Barnardo’s report are currently being considered in the context of the wider prison reforms.
All convicted prisoners have a long-standing statutory entitlement to a minimum of two visits every 28 days. In addition, prisoners may also be rewarded with additional visits for good behaviour and for engaging with their rehabilitation.