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Tag: 2015

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many replies to constituent correspondence from hon. Members his Department sent by (a) email and (b) letter in each of the last three years; and what the cost breakdown of each method was in each such year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We have received representations from a small number of hon. Members and where appropriate the Department obliges with email replies. Where there is sensitive personal information in a reply, it will be posted for security reasons.

    The cost differential between sending postal replies and email replies is minimal.

    The exact information requested on the method of dispatch is not available other than at a disproportionate cost.

  • Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in the Cabinet Office budget on the budget for the Office of Civil Society.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Office for Civil Society will make general efficiency savings in its core budget, but it will also receive an additional £80million to grow social investment and the funding to offer up to 300,000 National Citizen Service places in 2019/20.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government has taken to (a) improve destination data for school leavers and (b) develop online portals to help advise school leavers of all post-16 learning options.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Information on the destinations of Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 students was published on 20 October 2015. These experimental statistics are available online.[1]

    The statistics are published at national, local, constituency, and institution level.Since they were first released in 2012, we have added data about employment destinations; improved the coverage by including independent schools, special schools, pupil referral units and other alternative provision; and have improved the timeliness of the data. We have also included the Key Stage 4 education destinations in performance tables.

    We are looking to improve the quality of the destinations data by linking it to employment and benefits data. We plan to publish all Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 destinations as headline performance measures in the 2016 performance tables.

    In our guidance on post-16 funding, we set out the expectation that providers of post-16 education and training will add information on their Government funded courses to a national database. The aim is that portal providers will be able to access this information and present it in a user-friendly way, to help young people make informed decisions about their options. Providers of post-16 education and training are currently uploading course information to this database.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

    “

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the activities of ticket resale websites.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    An independent Review has been established to consider consumer protection measures in relation to online ticket resales and will report by 26 May 2016.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the creation of 28 states in South Sudan on the prospects for peace in that region.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    With our Troika partners, the United States and Norway, we issued a statement on 6th October expressing serious concern at President Kiir’s announcement of 2nd October concerning the creation of 28 states in South Sudan, as it contradicts the Government of South Sudan’s stated commitment to implement the peace agreement. The full text of this statement can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/south-sudan-troika-statement

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the rail layout in Leeds should allow HS2 trains from London, Birmingham, the East Midlands and Sheffield to Leeds to continue on to the East Coast Main Line to Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In November 2015 Sir David Higgins published his “Yorkshire Hub” interim report on Leeds HS2 station setting out his recommendation for a new hub station in Leeds. HS2 Limited is examining options that could allow regional services using HS2 from the south to travel via Leeds to York, Newcastle or Hull. The Government will take a decision on the Phase Two route in autumn 2016.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency who are aged (i) 60, (ii) 61, (iii) 62, (iv) 63, (v) 64, (vi) 65, (vii) 66, and (viii) 67 are in receipt of pension credit in the 2015-16 financial year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information as requested for 2015/16 is not available.

    Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

    http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

    “

  • Biography information for The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Biography information for The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for The Countess of Mar on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 16 July (HL1538), whether, in preparing that answer, they took account that of the substances in jet engine oils, only tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate has an exposure standard or short-term exposure limit, and that EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits states that the absence of a workplace exposure limit does not indicate that [a substance] is safe”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The previous answer took account of all the substances referred to in the Cranfield University’s Aircraft Cabin Air Sampling Study regardless of whether they are subject to Workplace Exposure Limits. For example, two of the substances measured (tolulene and carbon monoxide) are the subject of a European standard for safety, health and comfort limits (BS EN 4618:2009). In addition to this, for the substances that do not have a European standard, other limits and guidelines have been considered in assessing the significance of any health risk of exposure to the concentrations measured in cabin air. Several of the substances monitored during the research, for example TBP, TOCP and tetrachloroethylene, have workplace exposure limits (WEL). For substances that do not have a WEL, a number of guidelines were used that have been recommended by the World Health Organisation as well as different groups in the UK and EU. These groups include Kotzias et al, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Committee on the Medical Effect of Air Pollutants (COMEAP).

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many roads were resurfaced in 2014-15.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport regularly publishes Official Statistics on how many roads managed by local highway authorities were resurfaced. Figures for 2014/15 are not currently available and will be published in the next annual Road Conditions in England statistical release, provisionally scheduled for March 2016.

    Poorly maintained local roads are a menace to all road users. The Government is committed to helping local authorities end the misery caused by potholes. Between 2010 and 2015 we increased funding by £1 billion from the previous five year period (2005-10) and have also pledged a further £6 billion of funding to 2021. It is the first time councils have been given locked-in funding over this length of time, which will help them plan ahead and save money for the taxpayer. This increased funding will also reward those areas that demonstrate they are delivering value for money in carrying out cost effective improvements.

    The Department does not publish Official Statistics on resurfacing for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). The Highways Agency Annual Report for 2014/15 states that 2,900 lane kilometres of resurfacing took place on the SRN in that year. This report can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015. Over the course of this Parliament we plan to resurface 80% of the Strategic Road Network.

    “

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many ground troops they estimate would be required to defeat ISIL, and which countries they expect would provide those forces.

    Earl Howe

    We have not made such an estimate. We recognise that defeating Daesh will take a combination of military measures and political process. In Iraq we will continue to support government and Kurdish forces already rolling back Daesh. In Syria, this means an end to civil war, allowing all those forces committed to a stable, inclusive and unified Syria – including the army of an internationally-supported Syrian government – to fight Daesh together on the ground.