Tag: 2015

  • Baroness Manzoor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Manzoor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Manzoor on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) whether the proposed new, lower benefit cap has a gendered effect, and (2) whether any such effect would be mitigated by excluding certain child benefits from that cap.

    Lord Freud

    Her Majesty’s Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July, a copy of which is attached.

    Like other welfare benefits, child related benefits are taken into account when applying the cap. Removing them from the cap would effectively mean that there would be no upper limit on the amount of benefit that out of work households could receive.

  • Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the change in the size of the audience for BBC World Service programmes broadcast via the internet in African countries or regions from 1999 to 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The BBC World Service has advised that:

    The current weekly audience for the BBC on the Internet in sub Saharan Africa has grown from 520,000 in 2006 to 4.3 million (726 per cent increase).

    The current weekly audience for the BBC on the Internet in the Middle East and North Africa grew from 530,000 in 2006 to 2.2 million (315 per cent increase).

    The World Service use Global Audience Measurement (GAM) data to track performance by platform and by market. This data provides clear records from 2005 onwards.

  • Baroness Goudie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Goudie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Goudie on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the potential benefits to the Northern Powerhouse of the Candu Energy option for the reuse of the United Kingdom’s stockpile of plutonium.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is in the process of submitting advice to DECC, which together with other sources of information and evidence, will enable DECC to consider options for the disposition of plutonium. There are a number of options for dispositioning of plutonium that will be considered, including the potential option presented by Candu. A decision will be made by ministers in due course. The Government is confident that its preferred option for plutonium disposition will be implemented safely and securely, and in a way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the case of Waleed Abu Khair.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We continue to be concerned by the case of Waleed abu Al-Khair and have raised it at a senior level with the Saudi authorities. We will continue to follow this and other cases closely.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of working families earning at least £23,000 in Greater London, or at least £20,000 outside Greater London, receive (1) child benefit, and (2) child tax credit.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government is committed to achieving a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy. That means more emphasis on support to working families on low incomes through reducing tax and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.

    The Chancellor is listening to concerns raised by colleagues and will announce in his Autumn Statement how he plans to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits and saving the money we need to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

    HM Revenue & Customs publish statistics about individuals and households claiming tax credits and child benefits, which are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether record keeping regulations relating to financial services apply to organisations offering third party data storage to banks.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Authorised firms, such as banks, must be able to meet their regulatory requirements even when relying on a third party for the performance of operational functions. The firm must make available to the regulator all information necessary to ensure the regulator is able to supervise the compliance of the outsourced activities with the regulatory requirements, including those on record keeping.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 November (HL2849) on the review of retention of custody images by police forces, what are the specific operational and legal issues raised in the evidence-gathering stage, how they plan to address each issue, and what is the timescale for the completion of each of those actions.

    Lord Bates

    The review is ongoing, and is anticipated to report before the Christmas recess. Specific stakeholders consulted as part of the review include the Biometrics Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the National DNA Database Ethics Group, the National Police Chiefs Council , the College of Policing and local police forces. The report can be expected to address the operational and legal issues and risks, and set out plans for implementation.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent on the Mobile Infrastructure Project as of the end of November 2015; and what proportion of that figure was spent on (a) construction, (b) planning permission, (c) administration and (d) other costs.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As at the end of November 2015, spend on the Mobile Infrastructure Project is £9.1 Million. The breakdown of this spend is not in the format requested but the following information can be provided:

    • Site Builds – £0.9 Million.

    • Site Searches and acquisitions, which includes obtaining planning permission – £5.1 Million.

    • Supplier management and programme management costs and one-off supplier deliverables – £3 Million

    The above spend relates to concluded and ongoing activities to enable identification of suitable locations to build masts. The spend in respect of Site Builds includes payments for some of the masts that are already on air.

  • Wes Streeting – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Wes Streeting – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of home ownership since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    Annual home ownership statistics are published in the Department’s English Housing Survey. We are committed to one million more first time buyers over this Parliament, doubling the number achieved in the last Parliament. We are currently at a seven-year annual high with 264,500 first time buyers in England in 2014.

  • Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, published in November 2015, what steps his Department is taking to inform British industry of the opportunities available to participate in the maritime patrol aircraft programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 3 December 2015 to question 17838.