The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle domestic violence.
Karen Bradley
Tackling domestic violence is a key priority for this Government.
We have created a new offence of domestic abuse, we are making improvements to the police response and this year provided over £20m to fund specialist domestic and sexual violence services, national helplines and refuges.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 17662, if she will recompense postal applicants for a spousal visa whose application is not determined within eight weeks; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office does not intend to recompense all spousal visa applicants whose application was not determined within the 8 week postal service standard. The published service standard timeframes for spousal visa applications commences at the date of receipt, which is taken as the postal date marked on the application package and includes time taken for biometric enrolment.
Spousal visa applications may be decided outside of normal service standards for a range of reasons including requests for further information from the applicant or when an application is complex. An application will be deemed complex when it falls to be considered under Human Rights consideration beyond the original spousal route applied for. The applicant is normally advised when their application falls outside published service standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the rates of flu vaccination so far this winter, and how that compares to previous years.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Flu vaccine uptake rates for groups recommended to be immunised as part of the national flu immunisation programme as at 26 November are shown in the table below for this season and the two previous years. The figures for 2015/16 are provisional and from a sample of about three-quarters of participating general practitioner practices in England.
Flu vaccine uptake rates
|
Eligible groups |
2015/16 (%) |
2014/15 (%) |
2013/14 (%) |
|
Adults aged 65 years or older |
64.6 |
66.7 |
67.0 |
|
At risk groups aged six months to under 65 years (excluding pregnant women without other risk factors) |
36.4 |
42.4 |
43.6 |
|
Pregnant women (including those in risk groups) |
35.6 |
36.6 |
34.0 |
|
Children aged two years old (including those in risk groups) |
25.9 |
28.5 |
34.1 |
|
Children aged three years old (including those in risk groups) |
26.9 |
30.5 |
30.6 |
|
Children aged four years old (including those in risk groups) |
21.9 |
23.9 |
N/A |
Data source: PHE ImmForm weekly sentinel influenza vaccine uptake data collection.
For two to four year olds, vaccine was available about one week later than last year and this seems to be the main explanation for the apparent lower uptake. Communications activity to promote flu immunisation continues – this includes Stay Well This Winter roadshows visiting 67 locations across the country providing advice on flu vaccinations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost to the public purse has been of legislating for and implementing the criminal courts change to date.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Ministry of Justice does not collect data relating to the cost of legislating for specific provisions in this way.
The costs of the criminal courts charge implementation project were £534,760.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support initiatives to increase hedgehog numbers.
Rory Stewart
Defra is working with partners to identify actions that will help the conservation of hedgehogs though the Terrestrial Biodiversity Group, chaired by Natural England.
In addition, the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package element of the new Countryside Stewardship scheme will deliver specific management focused on improving farmland biodiversity across most farming systems. The package supports management options, including the conservation and enhancement of hedgerow systems and the creation and maintenance of field margins, which will help to provide suitable habitat for a range of species, including hedgehogs.
We also welcome the work being undertaken by a number of non-government organisations in helping to establish the facts behind the decline of the hedgehog and raise public awareness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will estimate the number of passengers from North Wales and Cheshire who are projected to use Manchester Airport in (a) 2015, (b) 2020 and (c) 2025.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The last aviation forecasts made by the Department for Transport were produced in January 2013. These gave the following forecasts of passengers using Manchester Airport who began or ended their journeys in North Wales or Cheshire in the central demand case:
(a) 2015 : 2.46 million
(b) 2020 : 2.74 million
(c) 2025 : 3.05 million
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of increasing spending on the science capital commitment on UK productivity.
Joseph Johnson
This Government recognises the value of science and innovation as a driver of economic success. We protected the science ring-fence over the last Parliament and are investing £6.9 billion in science capital from this year to 2021. There is clear and robust evidence of a link between R&D investment and national productivity, including in OECD Economic Working Paper 843 (2011): http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/5kghwnhxwkhj.pdf?expires=1447868224&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=FD50F59A6AFEEC34AE58B844317965CE
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to make decisions about changes to housing benefit entitlements for tenants of supported accommodation before the completion of research in this area which has been commissioned by the Department.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department has jointly commissioned an evidence review with DCLG looking at the size and scope of the supported housing sector. The results of this research will guide our consideration for future policy development.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released under a Home Detention Curfew in Devon were returned to prison after breaking the conditions of such a curfew between 2011 and 2014.
Andrew Selous
The number of prisoners released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) in England and Wales has fallen in recent years. This is principally due to the reduction in the number of prisoners eligible for the scheme.
The Ministry of Justice only collates data on the number of prisoners released on HDC who are then recalled to prison for breach of their curfew conditions and this data is only available for England and Wales as a whole. It would incur disproportionate cost to isolate from this overall data those recalled prisoners who had been released on HDC from prisons in Devon.
This data is published and can be located at the following link (table A3.5 details HDC recalls):
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps an academy school is legally required to take if it has a budget deficit.
Lord Nash
An academy trust is required by its funding agreement with the Secretary of State to balance its budget from each academy financial year to the next. Where the board of trustees of an academy is formally proposing to set a deficit budget for the current financial year, which it is unable to address after unspent funds from previous years are taken into account, it must notify the Education Funding Agency (EFA) within 14 days.
The EFA may issue a trust with a Financial Notice to Improve (FNtI) in cases of a deficit or projected deficit, setting out the actions it requires the trust to take. The trust must comply with all the terms of the FNtI which would include a requirement to implement a recovery plan to secure financial stability.