Tag: 2016

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to put measures in place to provide that the proposed higher rate stamp duty land tax will not apply when a purchaser who owns more than one property is replacing a main residence.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government intends that a purchaser who is replacing a main residence (even if owning more than one property) will not be subject to the higher rates of SDLT on purchases of additional properties. A consultation has recently concluded on the higher rates and the final policy design will be confirmed at Budget 2016.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions officials of his Department have had with the UK Statistics Authority on the ad hoc release of the document, Benefit claims by EEA nationals in November 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    Departmental officials had discussions with the UK Statistics Authority on the day of publication to confirm publication. Further discussions took place shortly after publication on the methodology used.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to encourage voter registration amongst students before the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    The Government has made it easier and more flexible for students to register to vote than ever before with the introduction of online registration. Students are now able to register at both term time and home addresses in just three minutes. Since June 2014, 3.8 million people aged 16-24 have applied to register to vote with 2.8 million of these applications made online. The Government is also working with Higher Education and Further Education bodies including the Association of Colleges and Universities UK to explore voter registration among students further.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of gender segregation in some Muslim independent schools.

    Nick Gibb

    Independent schools have to meet the standards set in regulations. If segregation results in disadvantage for pupils of one gender, either directly or through inappropriate modelling of gender roles through staff segregation visible to pupils, then it is likely that the standards have not been met and regulatory action by this Department will follow. If there is a possibility that staff segregation disadvantages staff of one gender and there may be a direct breach of the Equality Act 2010, we will not hesitate to make a referral to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what human rights objectives the Government set for the state visit of President Xi Jinping to the UK in October 2015; and what progress has been made on achieving those objectives.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    One of our objectives for the State Visit was to ensure that the UK and China could continue detailed expert exchanges on human rights and rule of law. Agreement on this issue was reflected in the leaders’ press conference and joint statement. Our broader objectives on human rights in China are set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual report on human rights and democracy, most recently published on 21 April. That report notes that in 2015 China continued to face human rights challenges, and that we have raised our concerns both bilaterally and in multilateral fora.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce her decision on the Scottish Government’s consultation on the five remaining cross-border or offshore marine special protection areas.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    I wrote to the Scottish Government on 2 September giving agreement to public consultation starting on four proposed marine Special Protection Areas that are partly in offshore waters. I also informed the Scottish Government that Defra was not yet in a position to start consultation on the English part of the proposed Solway Firth Special Protection Area, but that we would keep them updated on our position.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the Education Funding Agency budget has been allocated to fund the removal of asbestos from schools in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (b) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020.

    Nick Gibb

    The Education Funding Agency (EFA) does not hold a breakdown of funding information, in the format requested, in relation to the removal of asbestos or renovation of school buildings.

    Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the primary responsibility for managing asbestos lies with the person or persons responsible for the maintenance or repair of a building. For schools, this will be the local authority, school governors or academy trust.

    The table below summarises the capital budgets from 2011-12 to 2016-17 that were provided for school maintenance, refurbishment and rebuilding, including where appropriate the removal and/or safe containment of asbestos-containing materials. As these works are covered by the capital funding programmes listed below, the Department does not allocate a separate budget for this purpose; and there are no plans to do so in future years.

    The Department does not hold directly comparable allocation or expenditure data on prior years.

    (All values £m)

    2011-12 Budget

    2012-13 Budget

    2013-14 Budget

    2014-15 Budget

    2015-16 Budget

    2016-17 Budget

    School Condition Allocations (funding provided to local authorities and voluntary-aided schools)

    1,054

    861

    749

    699

    690

    661

    Devolved Formula Capital (funding provided direct to schools)

    185

    162

    149

    138

    134

    130

    Funding for academies, multi-academy trusts, state-funded special schools and other specialist providers for state-funded pupils (including DFC).

    161

    376

    504

    562

    576

    617

    Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) (delivered by central government)

    0

    0

    90

    603

    999

    1,050

    Total

    1,400

    1,399

    1,492

    2,002

    2,399

    2,458
  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the overall level of public funding for apprenticeships in (1) England, and (2) the construction sector, for apprentices aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 24, and (c) 24 and over, for the latest year for which information is available.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Funding responsibility for the Apprenticeship Programme is shared between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which funds adult apprenticeships and the Department for Education which funds 16-18 year olds. This is a demand-led budget and not allocated to any particular sector. Employers and providers are relied upon to work together to offer sufficient opportunities to meet local demand.

    For the 2015/16 financial year, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will provide £770million to fund apprenticeships for those aged 19+ and the Department for Education will provide £797.5million to fund apprenticeships for those aged 16-18.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) West Sussex and (b) Mid Sussex that will have access to superfast broadband by completion of phase two of the superfast broadband programme.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    By the end of phase two of the Superfast Broadband Programme approximately 95% of homes and businesses in West Sussex will have access to superfast broadband. For the Mid Sussex constituency over 96% of premises will have access to superfast broadband by the end of the project.

  • Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work NHS England and Monitor are undertaking to develop new payment and incentives mechanisms that drive integrated care for diabetes across primary and secondary care settings; and what is the time frame for any new proposals to be published.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England and Monitor are working closely together to ensure that the payment system supports service developments in the vanguard sites (including those where integrated diabetes care is a focus) as well as monitoring local innovative approaches to supporting integrated care taken by some clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). This is to ensure that the payment system keeps abreast with the development of future service models and is not a barrier to the development of new models of care.

    During 2016/17, NHS England will look at the current incentives and funding arrangements for diabetes to see how greater alignment could be achieved between the financial incentives for primary and secondary care.

    Information on how much money the National Health Service invested in structured education for diabetes patients is not collected centrally.

    Under the Health and Social Care Act (2012), NHS England has a statutory duty to conduct an annual assessment of every CCG. Since April 2013, CCGs have been assessed twice, for the period 2013/14 and for 2014/15.

    For 2016/17, NHS England will introduce a new CCG Improvement and Assessment Framework (CCG IAF). This new framework will align with NHS England’s mandate and planning process, with the aim of driving improvements in a number of key areas including the management and care of people with diabetes.

    NHS England has been working with Diabetes UK on including diabetes indicators in the CCG IAF. The proposed diabetes indicators are:

    – the percentage of diabetes patients that have achieved all three of the National Institute for Heath and Care Excellence recommended treatment targets; and

    – newly diagnosed diabetes patients referred to, or attending, a structured education course.

    Under the proposals, diabetes will also be one of the six clinical priority areas in the CCG IAF that will be overseen by an independent group.

    The CCG IAF proposals are subject to the outcome of an engagement process which closed for comments on February 26 2016. More information can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/ccg-improvmnt/

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