The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions his Department has had with the utility companies on contributions to the cost of Energy Performance Certificates.
James Wharton
This Department has not had any discussions with utility companies about contributing to the cost of Energy Performance Certificates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by which body he plans that the Construction Commissioner for High Speed 2 will be paid; and to whom it is planned that that Commission will report.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Terms of reference for the Construction Commissioner will be agreed by an independent steering group following Royal Assent. The group will monitor performance and review funding arrangements. An interim commissioner will be appointed this summer and the role will initially be paid for by HS2 Ltd.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of funding was allocated to Department for Transport Incident Support Units serving the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
Andrew Jones
There is no available data on the historical level of funding allocated specifically to the Incident Support Unit service in the geographical operational area for trunk roads motorways in the North West, where the M56 Motorway is located.
This Incident Support Unit was provided to Highways England’s predecessor organisation, the Highways Agency, by a contractor until 2012. There was a lump sum payment for various duties and it is not possible to disaggregate the cost of the Incident Support Unit service from the overall payments.
A new Asset Support Contract replaced the previous approach in November 2012, and this no longer requires the contractor to provide a dedicated Incident Support Unit team. Incident response is now handled by the trained operatives in the general workforce, who are already working on the road network. This has proved to be a more flexible and cost-effective way of managing incidents.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the decline in Short Term Benefit Advance applications in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK between February 2015 and March 2016.
Damian Hinds
Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) are payments on account of benefit. The majority of STBAs are awarded to people in the period before their benefit is first due to be paid, but STBAs can also be paid where a change of circumstances significantly increases the amount of benefit due. STBAs are predominately paid to people claiming Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance. They are not available to people claiming Universal Credit.
Between April 2015 and March 2016, there were 218,592 STBA applications in Great Britain as a whole, with monthly variations ranging from 17,188 in September 2015 to 21,529 in February 2016, but with no downward trend at the year end. In Scotland, there were 26,322 applications over the same period, with monthly variations ranging from 1,462 in November 2015 to 3,022 in April 2015, with a clear downward trend at the year end.
As the roll-out of Universal Credit to all new claimants progresses, we anticipate a corresponding decline in the number of STBA applications.
The Department for Work and Pensions continues to advertise the availability of STBAs through the gov.uk website, with information posters and leaflets in Jobcentres nationwide.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will ensure that the sex and relationships education curriculum includes (a) LGBT issues and (b) supporting young people’s long-term physical health, mental health and general wellbeing.
Edward Timpson
We are clear that as part of schools’ duty to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, all young people should be provided with a curriculum that prepares them for success in adult life. We have made it clear in the introduction to the national curriculum that all schools should make provision for high-quality, age appropriate personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, which includes sex and relationships education (SRE).
When teaching SRE, all schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance. The guidance sets out that young people, whatever their developing sexuality, need to feel that their school’s SRE is relevant to them and sensitive to their needs, and that teachers should be able to deal honestly and sensitively with sexual orientation, answer appropriate questions and offer support. Schools are also bound by the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty 2011, to ensure that teaching is accessible to all children and young people, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
When delivering PSHE, schools and teachers have the freedom to design lessons that meet their pupils’ needs, taking account of pupil and parent views. PSHE lessons can provide knowledge to support young people’s long-term physical health, mental health and general wellbeing.
Teachers are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals. Many of these specialist organisations have produced resources, including the issues you identify, which can be used and adapted by schools.
As the Secretary of State said at the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, we need to look again at how schools deliver high quality PSHE including SRE. We are considering all the options and will come to a view soon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2015 to Question 16005, on malnutrition, how the Government plans to measure progress on its commitment to nutrition for 50 million people by 2020.
Mr Nick Hurd
The approach to measuring the commitment to improve the nutrition of 50 million people by 2020 is currently being finalised as part of the DFID aid review. Full details of the methodology for measuring these results will be published once this is completed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has, when removing housing benefit entitlement from young people, to protect the entitlement of those who are (a) leaving care, (b) pregnant, or (c) have dependent children.
Justin Tomlinson
Removal of automatic housing support for 18 – 21 year olds, announced in the Summer Budget 2015, will be introduced in April 2017. The Department is liaising with a range of key stakeholders as we develop the detail of the policy, and once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590, whether his Department has received a request from the Kurdistan Regional Government for replacement ammunition rounds for British-gifted heavy machine guns; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
The Kurdish Regional Government has made a number of recent requests to Her Majesty’s Government for further assistance, including for ammunition. These requests are currently under consideration and as set out in my Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590. Should a decision be taken that we can provide further assistance, this would be notified to Parliament in the normal way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will estimate the level of creditor claims related to insolvency litigation in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure the randomised control trial his Department is conducting on in-work progression follows the code of ethics set by the British Psychological Society.
Priti Patel
The Department considers the ethical implications of trials throughout development, implementation and analysis.
Research on our in-work progression trial adheres to the Government Social Research Code.