The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville on 2015-10-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have undertaken or commissioned on the take-up of the extension of the right to buy to housing association tenants in all parliamentary constituencies and housing authority areas in England.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer I gave her on 28 October, PQ HL2737
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether companies carrying out hydraulic fracturing operations in the United Kingdom must provide full details of the chemicals that they use including all the ingredients of proprietary products, and whether this information will be made available to the public.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Operators are required to disclose fully the composition of fracturing fluid additives as part of their application for environmental permits. The Environment Agency (EA) assesses the hazards presented by fracturing fluid additives or drilling muds on a case-by-case basis and will not permit the use of chemicals hazardous to groundwater where they may enter groundwater and cause pollution. The EA has the power to restrict or prohibit the use of any substances where they would pose an environmental risk.
Information on chemical substances and their maximum concentrations is included within the environmental permit. The permit is placed on the public register.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-10-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the remarks by the Syrian Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart on the BBC Radio Four programme Sunday that European countries taking in Syrian refugees are harming Syria.
Lord Bates
The Government has been leading the way for a comprehensive and sustainable response to the conflict in Syria. The Government believes that the best way to help the majority of the many displaced Syrians across the globe is through practical and political action within affected regions. That is why the Government has prioritised humanitarian assistance in crisis regions and supports regional protection programmes which will improve the conditions for refugees seeking protection in their region of origin until they are able to return to their homes.
The Government recognises, however, that not all displaced Syrians can be supported effectively in the region and that is why we have committed to granting protection to 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees under our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme over the course of this Parliament.
The Government shares Archbishop Jean-Clement’s view that we must actively seek an end to the conflict as it is the best way to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for Syrian refugees, as opposed to larger scale relocation or resettlement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many council homes have been built each year since 2010 in each of the 32 London boroughs.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The numbers of local authority dwellings built ineach London borough from 2010/11 are shown in the attached table. For context I have also provided figures going back to 2001/2. These figures show that under Labour, from 2001/02-2009/10, there were 170 council homes built across the 32 London boroughs, whereas from 2010/11 to 2014/15 we have built 1,510 council homes across London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what research his Department has commissioned or undertaken to assess the potential effect on small businesses of proposed changes to Sunday trading laws.
Anna Soubry
We have consulted on our proposals to devolve the power to extend Sunday trading hours to local areas, to which we received a large number of responses from a wide range of stakeholders. We will be publishing the Government’s response shortly. In the consultation, we said we considered that devolving this power would enable local areas to determine the Sunday trading hours that better reflect the need of local people, providing greater choice over when and where they shop. People may choose small retailers, as for example, they offer a diverse range of products and services from convenient locations. This is perhaps why the convenience sector last year saw the opening of two new stores a day and growth in turnover of 5%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on competition in the private motor insurance market of automatic policy renewals; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government.
The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made under what working assumptions of the potential cost of the holding of an election for a North East regional mayor.
James Wharton
We have made no such estimates as all these costs are matters for the councils concerned which will have considered such matters when giving their provisional agreement to the North East Devolution Deal, which in addition to establishing a North East regional mayor, will create an Investment Fund to support the North East, worth up to £1.5 billion, with an initial allocation of revenue funding for capital financing of £30 million a year for 30 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 11 of his Department’s Defence Equipment Plan 2015, what the reasons are for the decrease in contingency provision; and how that decrease will be achieved.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the Defence Equipment Plan 2015, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-equipment-plan-2015. Paragraph 11 explains the movements in the high level elements of the equipment plan from the previous financial year. Each of the operating centre breakdowns in Section C of the Equipment Plan contains an explanation of any increase or decrease in spending from the previous financial year.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with colleagues in other Departments about the national security implications of Chinese state involvement in the UK’s domestic nuclear operations.
Michael Fallon
I have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on national security matters.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11372, how many additional children are now in receipt of free school meals since the changes made to her Department’s eligibility checking system.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The eligibility checking system has been revised and updated on a number of occasions, for example to reflect that universal credit had been added to the list of entitling benefits in 2012. Since 2010, the number of pupils entitled to, and claiming for free school meals has decreased from 1,212,320 (16.2%) to 1,198,494 (15.1%) in 2015. We expect the proportion of children eligible for, and claiming free school meals to continue to decrease as the economy continues to improve.