The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to monitor the cost to nursing homes of employing agency nurses; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
The Government has no plans to monitor agency costs to nursing homes.
Care providers are independent businesses and agreements with agency staffing providers are commercial contractual arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 117 of the Counter-Extremism Strategy, published on 19 October 2015, what the timescale is for introducing the Extremism Community Trigger.
Karen Bradley
The Extremism Community Trigger will be introduced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 12154, for what reasons he did not refer to any legal basis in domestic law during (a) his oral statement of 4 September 2015, Official Report, column 23 and (b) the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 9571; and if he will describe the legal basis in domestic law used for the targeted killing of British citizens outside declared war zones; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Cameron
I have nothing further to add.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to continue the Universal Jobmatch service after the contract expires in April 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Priti Patel
DWP intends to exercise its right under the current contract to extend the service for a further 12 months. Commercial discussions are currently underway with the supplier.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Mexico following the publication in December 2014 of the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain concerned by reports of the use of torture in Mexico. Ministers have raised human rights with their Mexican counterparts on several occasions, including at the highest level during the President’s State Visit in March 2015. Officials at our Embassy in Mexico City also regularly raise our concerns in meetings with the Mexican government. In support of this ongoing dialogue, this year, the UK is working with the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute to train judges to deal with torture and enforced disappearance cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Soley on 2015-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to develop a supportive environment in the United Kingdom for the development and deployment of new aircraft and engine technologies in order to reduce emissions from aviation.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government is supporting industry investment in the development and deployment of technologies for new aircraft, including technologies for new engines, aero structures and advanced systems, to reduce noise and other emissions from aviation.
This support is integral to the work between industry and Government through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which published its Technology Strategy 2015 in July. To date, 100 ATI projects, worth around a total of £1bn, jointly funded by industry and government have been approved; and the majority of these are focused on technologies required to produce greener, more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the freedom of religious minorities in Saudi Arabia to practise their religion or belief in private.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country in which Islamic law is strictly enforced and the public practice of any form of religion other than Islam is illegal. However, the Saudi authorities do accept foreign workers privately practising religions other than Islam. These restrictions on freedom of religion or belief reflect widely-held conservative social values in Saudi society. The Saudi authorities are encouraging reforms but at a pace that is acceptable to its society.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has reviewed the adequacy of financial support for students with disabilities; and if he will make a statement.
Joseph Johnson
Disabled Students’ Allowances are available to help meet the additional costs that a disabled student is obliged to incur, in relation to their study, by virtue of their disability.
Disabled Students’ Allowances, along with all other types of student support, are reviewed before laying the annual student support regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to assist SMEs with higher labour costs by 2020 under the National Living Wage.
Nick Boles
The Government is reducing Corporation Tax to 19% from 2017-18 and then to 18% from 2020-21; setting the Annual Investment Allowance at a new permanent level of £200,000; and increasing the Employment Allowance by £1,000 to £3,000 from 2016-17. The increase in the employment allowance means a business could employ four people on the National Living Wage and pay no National Insurance Contributions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposed changes to business rates on (a) the North East, (b) the North East Combined Authority area and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.
Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in the North-East estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £854.58 million.