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Tag: 2016

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to apply the pay to stay provisions of the House and Planning Act 2016 in all areas regardless of the levels of market and social rents.

    Brandon Lewis

    My officials are considering how the policy should apply to properties where market and social rents are close and the cost of operating the policy may be greater than the additional rent collected. We will be setting out the approach in detail in the pay to stay regulations and guidance will be provided to local authorities to support them through the implementation of the policy.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether special case funding to meet exceptional needs costs of resettled Syrian refugees beyond their first year of resettlement in the UK will be included as part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance contributions.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Official Development Assistance (ODA) can only be used to meet the first year post-arrival costs of each refugee, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rules do not permit usage past the first year.

    We do though have an additional exceptional needs sum of money, available from our years 2 to 5 funding, amounting to 15% of the total funding available each year.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs which will be created at Barrow shipyards by the Successor submarine project; and what estimate it has made of the anticipated duration of employment of those jobs.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We expect the Successor submarine programme will sustain thousands of jobs at Barrow into the 2030s. These jobs will ensure that the UK retains and develops its world leading skills at Barrow and a wide range of companies across the nation, making a significant contribution to the UK economy.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the minimum number of bids for rail franchises they require to create the necessary competitive tension to ensure value for money for the travelling public, and in particular whether they consider that three bids is sufficient for that purpose.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Whilst the Department for Transport prefer to have three bids for each franchise competition, as was the established practice under the previous government, we are prepared to accept that on occasion, we may only have two genuine bidders.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is any provision in the agreement between NXET Trains Limited and his Department of 15 July 2014 on the Essex Thameside franchise relating to the closure of ticket offices.

    Claire Perry

    The agreement between NXET Trains Limited and the Department for Transport is in the public domain and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486697/essex-thameside.pdf

    “

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether children of a first marriage are disadvantaged compared with the children of subsequent marriages under current inheritance tax rules.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Inheritance tax is generally levied on estates rather than on beneficiaries. Although any legacies to a spouse or civil partner will be exempt, the relationship between the deceased and the beneficiaries usually has no effect on the inheritance tax liability of an estate under the current rules. The children of first marriages and of subsequent marriages, and indeed other beneficiaries of the deceased, will generally be treated in the same way.

    The Government considered whether children of a first marriage would be disadvantaged compared with children of subsequent marriages when developing legislation for the new residence allowance. This is being phased in from April 2017 for individuals who leave their home to their children, grandchildren or other direct descendants. The definition of direct descendants includes a person who was at any time a step-child of the deceased so it would apply equally to children of first and any subsequent marriages.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37538, on cycling, what the central and total expenditure per head by region, excluding Cycling Ambition City funding, was in 2015-16.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Information on 2015/16 is provided in the table below, but in context it should be noted that in the five years from 2011/12 to 2015/16, the overall spend per head on cycling in England from the public purse has trebled. And it is this Government which is delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy will establish for the first time the strategic framework for increasing cycling and walking in England – the first step towards achieving long-term change.

    Regional figures per head for 2015/16 are available centrally for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, Cycle Rail and Transport for London, and expenditure per head per region for these programmes for 2015/16 is included in the table below. We have also now compiled information on regional spend on Bikeability, which is also reflected in the table below.

    Note that the Department does not hold a record of regional breakdowns of cycling spending under the Integrated Transport block, Highways England and Local Growth Fund programmes. The figures below therefore do not provide a total regional spend per head and spend on the ground will be significantly greater.

    Region

    Regional spend per head (£)* for selected programmes

    2015/16

    Includes Cycling Ambition

    Excludes Cycling Ambition

    East Midlands

    DfT spend

    1

    1

    Total spend

    1

    1

    East of England

    DfT spend

    1

    1

    Total spend

    1

    1

    North East

    DfT spend

    6

    5

    Total spend

    7

    5

    North West

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    4

    2

    South East

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    2

    2

    South West

    DfT spend

    3

    3

    Total spend

    4

    3

    West Midlands

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    3

    2

    Yorkshire & Humber

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    3

    2

    London

    Total spend

    18

    18

    *Figures have been rounded

    “

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service family accommodation homes have not met the Decent Homes standard in each of the last five years,

    Mark Lancaster

    Data on Service Family Accommodation (SFA) houses that did not meet the decent homes standard in each of the last five years is not held as the Ministry of Defence (MOD) only started assessing houses against this standard in April 2016.

    As of 12 July 91.6% of SFA houses met or exceeded the decent homes standard.

    The information on the historical condition of SFA demonstrated a steady increase in condition against the ‘Standard for Condition’ metrics. Under this system 96% of SFA was at the top two standards for condition which broadly equated to the decent homes standard.

    Any family currently living in a property that does not meet the decent homes standard has the option to move, but will not be forced to move. The MOD does not allocate properties below the decent homes standard to families.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the correlation between people who commit crimes against animals and go on to commit crimes against the person.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Home Office has made no specific assessment of the correlation between people who commit crimes against animals and go on to commit crimes against the person.

    In March this year the Government published the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy. The strategy sets out the evidence that points to six key drivers of crime: drugs; alcohol; the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System; character (or an individual’s propensity to offend); opportunity; and profit. The strategy can be accessed at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509831/6.1770_Modern_Crime_Prevention_Strategy_final_WEB_version.pd

    “

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the distribution of nitrogen and phosphates in the English river system since recent flooding; and what assessment she has made of the potential effect of that distribution on the natural environment.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environment Agency records the concentrations of nitrates and phosphates at thousands of locations across England. It monitors on either a monthly or quarterly basis over the course of the year. The January data should soon be ready for compilation. Many of the December samples were taken before the heavy rain so analysis of the data is still being carried out.

    Heavy rainfall events, such as those experienced in the recent floods, generally cause an initial flush of nutrients from agricultural land and urban drainage systems to rivers.This causes an increase in river nutrient concentrations which then falls away due to dilution by high river flows.During floods, large amounts of nutrients are washed down rivers into coastal waters. If this occurs in summer it can trigger algal blooms, feeding on the nutrients. In winter, the effects are not generally significant as the reduced sunlight and colder water temperatures mean that algae do not grow.