The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-04-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on raising awareness of the tax-free Childcare scheme.
Damian Hinds
HM Revenue and Customs, HM Treasury and the Department for Education, and their Ministers, are collaborating closely on the implementation of Tax-Free Childcare and the Extended Entitlement to free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of tunnelling between Darenth and South Ockenden as an option for the Lower Thames Crossing.
Andrew Jones
Two long tunnels were considered and evaluated as part of the options for a new Lower Thames Crossing scheme. The long tunnel options connected Darenth to South Ockenden either through junctions 2 and 30 on the M25 or by direct connection to the motorway beyond the junctions.
The cost of these tunnel options was estimated at £6.6 billion compared with £4.3 billion for the proposed option, described in the consultation material, and therefore these options were not taken forward as they did not represent good value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many changes to green belt boundaries have been made in the past five years.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Between 2010/11 and 2014/15, 24 local authorities adopted new boundaries for the designated Green Belt.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings they have held with representatives of the audio-visual industry about the implications for the industry of the result of the referendum on EU membership; and which government departments have been involved in such meetings.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Government is determined to ensure the UK audio-visual industry thrives outside of the EU. The Secretary of State held a roundtable with key stakeholders to discuss implications for the industry, and over the coming weeks and months government will be engaging in further discussions with the businesses and key stakeholders.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend to government departments, government agencies and other public bodies the requirement for local authorities to publish lists of the brownfield land they own.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Government records details of its land and property holdings on the electronic Property Information Management System database. The Government Property Finder website draws on this information and allows the public to search and map the estate. The Cabinet Office is currently considering future data requirements, including whether there should be any specific reporting requirements on brownfield land.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to relocate testing for Lyme borreliosis away from the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory; and if so, when they expect the move to take place, and whether the new laboratory will be ISO 15189 accredited at the time of the transfer.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department of Health, Public Health England (PHE) or NHS England do not hold information about which laboratories are and are not International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189 accredited. A list of accredited laboratories is held on the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) website and is the definitive list of accredited laboratories to which the Department, PHE and the NHS refer. Accreditation is covered by the Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) company until recently, and is now part of the UKAS scheme.
There is no intention to transfer the Lyme disease testing service from the Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) to another laboratory. RIPL as a department will move from the Porton site as part of the PHE relocation scheduled to commence in 2018 but no decision on the exact date has been made. RIPL is scheduled to transfer to ISO 15189 in late summer 2016, when the ISO inspection team review the tests offered by the laboratory under ISO 15189. Until that time, the laboratory is operating under CPA in accordance with the transition process laid down by ISO.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on which dates the Community Engagement Forum met following the first meeting in October 2015; what were the main topics discussed at each meeting; and who attended each meeting.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Community Engagement Forum met on 19 November 2015 and focused on education and the role it can play in promoting integration. The following individuals attended:
Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities
Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism
Louise Casey, Independent review on isolated communities
Alun Francis, Principal and Chief Executive of Oldham College
Aina Khan, Head of Islamic Department, Duncan Lewis Solicitors
Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at Jan Trust
Mary Ney, Supporting Commissioner, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival
Farook Yunus, Leader of Kumon Y’all
Sara Khan, Director and Co-founder of Inspire
Shaukat Warraich, Chief Executive, Faith Associates
Anil Bhanot OBE, Managing Trustee and Director of Hindu Council UK
Gillian Merron, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews
William Nye, Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England
Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations
Christine Fischer, Catholic Education Service
Pascale Vassie, Executive Director, National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education
Martin Pratt, Director of Children, Schools and Families, Camden Council
Matthew Coffey, Chief Operating Officer, Ofsted
Phil Champain, Director 3 Faiths Forum
Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara, Circuit Judge East London Family Court and Kingston Crown Court
Sue Robb, Head of Early Years, 4Children
The Community Engagement Forum also met on 14 January 2016 and focussed on the contribution of Muslim women in Britain. The following individuals attended:
Rt. Hon. David Cameron, Prime Minister
Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities
Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism
Baroness Williams, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government
Louise Casey, Independent review on isolated communities
Camilla Cavendish, Head of the No. 10 Policy Unit
Max Chambers, Special Adviser, Home Affairs and Justice, No.10
Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at JAN Trust
Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival
Sara Khan, Director and co-founder of Inspire
Diana Nammi, Executive Director of Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation
Aysha and Kiran Iqbal Patel, Directors of Odara
Fahma Mohamed, FGM activist and Trustee of Integrate Bristol
Faeeza Vaid, Chair of ‘Sister 2 Sister’ in Birmingham and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Network
Henna Rai, Director for the Association of British Muslims
Yasmin Khan, Director of Staying Put and Aspire-I
Hasina Khan, Chair and founder of Saheliyaan Asian Women’s Forum and Councillor on Chorley Council
Nahid Rasool, Director of Shantona Women’s Centre
Farmida Bi, Head of Islamic Finance and a partner at Norton Rose.
Zahra Al-Alawi, Presenter of Woman’s View on Ahlulbayt TV
Farah Mirza, TV Presenter and previous UN representative for Islamic Human Rights Commission
Sarah Joseph OBE, Chief Executive and Editor of emel magazine
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether regulations are in place to ensure that (a) town councils, (b) parish councils and (c) local communities can exercise a community right to bid for independent qualified contractors to deliver highways infrastructure works that are funded by Section 106 contributions from developments within their parish as part of any competitive bidding process carried out by the local highways authority.
Brandon Lewis
Provisions are in place under the Community Right to Challenge to enable town and parish councils and voluntary and community organisations to challenge how council services are delivered by submitting a bid (Expression of Interest) to the relevant council.
Expressions of Interest need to be made in respect of an existing service and one that the local authority has responsibility for providing, which councils must consider and can only reject if specific circumstances set out in legislation apply. If a developer is undertaking work as part of an agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, then this would not fall under the scope of the Right to Challenge as it would not be a local authority service.
However, if a highways service was to be delivered by a local authority as a result of a Section 106 contribution then this would be within the scope of the Right, although it is important to note that local authorities are able to reject an Expression of Interest if a service is already the subject of a procurement process or pre-procurement negotiations. If this is the case, the town or parish council or community group would be able to participate in the procurement process.
The Community Right to Bid provides local people and parish councils with the opportunity to nominate a building or land for listing by a local council as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), which, if the owner decides to sell, a moratorium of up to six months is triggered. During the moratorium period, the asset cannot be sold except to a community bidder.
If a highways service was to be delivered by a local authority as a result of a Section 106 contribution then this should be within the scope of the Community Right to Challenge. It is important to note though that local authorities are able to reject an expression of interest if a service is already the subject of a procurement process or if the authority has entered into negotiations with a third party to deliver the service and these are at least in part conducted in writing. Where the services are currently being procured, the organisation in question would be able to participate in the procurement exercise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people resident in the UK hold an EU non-British passport and previously held a non-EU country passport.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many bilateral trade agreements the UK has with countries outside the EU.
Anna Soubry
Since the EU has sole competence on trade policy, the UK has no bilateral trade agreements in force with countries outside the EU.