The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards her Department is providing to enable applications to be filed for Grants of Probate in respect of Estates which do not have sufficient liquid funds to pay fees to Probate Registries.
Dr Phillip Lee
We are carefully considering the responses to our earlier consultation on this issue, and will set out further plans in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the average number of hip and knee replacement operations per one million population performed weekly (1) by the NHS, and (2) privately, during each quarter since October 2015 in the English regions of (a) London, (b) the South, (c) the Midlands and East, and (d) the North.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The information requested is in the table attached.
The data is activity in National Health Service Hospitals in England and NHS funded activity in the independent sector. Information on privately funded activity in the independent sector is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to include within its proposals for registration and inspection of out-of-school education settings (a) annual holiday clubs and (b) communal religious groups.
Nick Gibb
The Government wants children to be educated in a safe environment where they are not exposed to hateful and extremist views that undermine British values.
The call for evidence on out-of-school settings described:
(a) Supplementary schools as settings which offer support or education in addition to mainstream or core learning, and which operate after school hours and on the weekends; and
(b) Tuition centres as settings which could often be used in place of mainstream education and support home education, and which can operate at any time of day.
The proposals are about making sure that where there are concerns raised by parents and others about issues of extremism, child cruelty or inappropriate teaching in unregulated settings, the Government can take action to protect children and empower parents.
The call for evidence defined intensive education as anything which entails an individual child attending a setting for more than betweensix toeight hours a week. Such settings would be required to register with their local authority and be eligible for inspection where concerns were reported.
Settings providing ad hoc classes or regular classes below a specified time threshold would not be captured by the proposal. One-week holiday clubs and Sunday schools would not, therefore, be covered. The proposal is intended to capture settings where children receive intensive education, regardless of faith or whether provided by a community group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to strengthen planning regulations in respect of air quality considerations when a planning application falls within an Air Quality Action Plan.
James Wharton
There are already strong protections in place to safeguard people from unacceptable risks from air pollution with particular recognition given to Air Quality Management Areas in national planning policy. The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning policies to sustain compliance with and contribute to EU limit values or national objectives for pollutants, taking account the presence of Air Quality Management Areas. The Framework is also clear that planning decisions should ensure that any new development in Air Quality Management Areas is consistent with the local air quality action plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25652, whether EU nationals are able to apply for apprenticeships in England.
Nick Boles
An EU national can be employed in an apprenticeship in England, and will be eligible for funding for their apprenticeship provided they meet set eligibility criteria.
These criteria are set out in the Skills Funding Agency: common funding rules for the 2016 to 2017 funding year.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of whether the air quality objectives set out in Annex II of Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe will be breached in any location scheduled to be affected by the construction of Phase One of High Speed 2.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Environmental Statement and Supplementary Environmental Statements for the Phase One hybrid Bill fully assessed the impact on air quality from HS2 construction. Those assessments specifically considered the limit values set out in Annex II of Directive 2008/50/EC, and identified whether the limit values are currently breached, were anticipated to be breached in the future, and to what extent any breaches would be affected by the construction of Phase One of High Speed Two.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed at each location by Innovate UK in the last year for which figures are available.
Joseph Johnson
There no civil servants employed by Innovate UK.
People employed in Innovate UK are public servants and as at 31 December 2015 they were located as shown in the table below.
|
Location |
Region |
Innovate UK |
|
Swindon |
South West |
180 |
|
Other (inc. Work from home, Field work, Mobile, etc.) |
Mobile |
126 |
|
Total |
Total |
306 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the trade of (a) greyhounds and (b) other animals to countries with little or no protection for animals rights.
George Eustice
Animal welfare regulations in third countries are the responsibility of those countries. However, we encourage other countries to improve or maintain welfare standards including through being a member of international organisations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). EU Member States are subject to animal welfare regulations covered by EU law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.
Mr John Hayes
To provide the detailed spend and purpose information requested on each individual occasion would require manual intervention and analysis on approximately 30,000 payments across the Department for Transport and its agencies. The number of times an organisation was used will also vary each year as projects can span financial years and this could lead to double counting with the risk that inaccurate information is provided. I am therefore unable to provide the information in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentages of the Department for International Development’s total Official Development Assistance were spent on sexual, reproductive, maternal and child health in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.
Lord Bates
The Department of International Development spent 12.4% of its official development assistance on sexual, reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in both 2013 and 2014. Data for 2015 has not yet been published.