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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when work will commence to convert the M4 to a smart motorway from junction 3 to Theale; what the estimated time of completion is; what the estimated final cost of the project is; and what level of traffic disruption is expected during construction.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    From Highways England’s latest information, the M4 junction 3 to 12 scheme is scheduled to start works in 2016/17 and to complete in 2021/22. The latest cost estimate for the scheme is in a range of £614m to £862m with a central estimate of £715m.

    The improvements to the M4 are being designed to minimize traffic disruption. The work will be phased but ensure that sections will provide three narrow lanes open to traffic during the daytime and at times of peak flows. Lane closures will take place at night, when traffic flows are lower, for specific tasks such as re-surfacing and gantry and bridge erection. Some complete closures of the M4 will also be required to allow for the demolition of eleven overbridges that are to be replaced as part of this scheme. These will be arranged for periods when flows on the motorway are at their lowest, usually at weekends.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

    George Eustice

    Special Advisers have accompanied Ministers on two overseas trips since May 2015.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 11888, for what reason the (a) prosecution cost per defendant and (b) overall spend per completed case has increased since 2010-11.

    Jeremy Wright

    The increase in (a) average prosecution cost per defendant and (b) overall spend per completed case reflects the significant change in the caseload mix since 2010-11.

    For example, the prosecution of low level traffic offences has been transferred to the police since 2010-11, leading to a fall of 61.1% in motoring cases. A rising proportion of the CPS workload is now geared towards larger and more complex cases, including non-recent sexual abuse cases.

    The average costs are also unadjusted for inflation. If average costs for each prior year were all restated in terms of 2014-15 prices, then they would all be increased accordingly.

  • Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to increase the level of stem cell donations by people of mixed ethnicity.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department is supporting the provision of stem cells for patients through our key delivery partners, Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant. They continue to specifically recruit adult bone marrow donors from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and we have agreed with them a target to recruit at least 3,000 new adult male bone marrow donors from the BAME community this year.

    It is difficult to find a perfectly matched donor for patients of mixed ethnicity, and for this reason the Department has continued to support the collection of cord blood stem cells. Cord blood stem cells are more tolerant of minor mis-matches and therefore particularly important to patients unable to find a suitable adult bone marrow donor.

    The Department continues to support the National BAME Transplant Alliance with the aim of raising awareness about the need for stem cell and organ donation, increasing the number of people from a BAME background on the bone marrow and organ donation registers and increasing the number of people from BAME communities who can benefit from either a stem cell or organ transplant.

  • Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will list (a) his Department’s correspondence and (b) meetings with the former hon. Member for Redcar between May 2010 and May 2015 on SSI Redcar.

    Anna Soubry

    It is an established convention that Minsters of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has put in place to provide support for Syrian refugees relocated in the UK under the vulnerable persons relocation scheme who do not speak English.

    Richard Harrington

    Local authorities provide those resettled under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme with a 12 month support package to assist with their integration, and this includes provision of English language tuition. This is being funded using Official Development Aid, and the Chancellor has now confirmed that the Government will provide additional funding to assist with costs incurred in years two to five of the scheme.

  • Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total number of on-flows and off-flows tax credits was in Salford in the most recent (a) 12 and (b) 24 months for which data is available.

    Damian Hinds

    The answers are only available at disproportionate cost.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 3.15 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what steps he plans to take to address the effects of regional variation in council tax revenue on funding for social care under the proposed council tax precept for social care.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    It is for local authorities to allocate funding to individual services from their overall budget. In recognition of increasing demand for social services, the Spending Review announced an ambitious plan to integrate health and social care across the country by 2020, and a £3.5 billion package to support local authorities with responsibility for adult social care to meet the needs of their local population. This includes giving councils the additional freedom to introduce a social care precept onto council tax bills, which local authorities with responsibility for Adult Social Care services can choose to take up from 2016-17. The consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement will soon be published and it will include proposed changes to rebalance support, including to those authorities with social care responsibilities, by taking into account the main resources available to councils.

  • Rupa Huq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Rupa Huq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow local councils to ban overseas and off-plan sales.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have actively encouraged the property industry to ensure that homes for sale are marketed in the United Kingdom, and not solely overseas.

    The Coalition Government took action to tackle tax avoidance and ensure that those individuals who ‘envelope’ UK residential properties, by owning or purchasing them through corporate structures without a commercial purpose, pay a fair share of tax. We also introduced capital gains tax on future gains made by non-residents disposing of UK residential property.

    The Mayor of London has launched a Mayoral Concordat where signatories commit to marketing new homes on every development to Londoners before, or at the same time as, they are available to overseas buyers.

    But overseas investment in new housing can be crucial in providing the finance that is needed to build new homes. Non residents purchasing and occupying a house in the UK contribute to the tax system, just as residents do, through stamp duty, land tax and council tax.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he was first told that Capital Financial Managers Limited knew by September 2009 that investors’ funds were exposed to risks not provided for in the information memorandum for the Connaught Fund.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

    This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.