The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many meetings of the British-Irish Council Ministers of his Department took part in since May 2013.
Joseph Johnson
Information on Ministerial attendances can be found on the British-Irish Council website:
https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/communique/ministerial-meetings
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Written Statement HCW588 on Infected Blood Payment Scheme, whether his Department has made an estimate of how many bereaved people will receive less support after 2016-17 than they do now.
Nicola Blackwood
The reformed scheme will provide a payment to all those with hepatitis C, even if they have been treated, for the current spending review period. A review of the scheme will take place towards the end of this spending review period.
All those who are currently bereaved partners/spouses and all those who will be bereaved partner/spouses in future will receive a £10,000 lump sum payment and will have continued access to discretionary support. Discretionary support will continue to be available to the bereaved, as well as to infected individuals.
All infected individuals who are registered with Skipton as having hepatitis C stage 1 (nearly 2,500 people) will be eligible for the new stage 1 annual payment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of cattle which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease in each of the last five years.
George Eustice
Defra collects data on cases of notifiable or reportable diseases, as per a legal requirement. The department does not estimate the number of all cattle or all pigs which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease as the department does not collect cattle or pigs death data.
There have been no pig deaths due to notifiable disease in Great Britain in the last 5 years. There were two cattle deaths in 2015 from Anthrax. The most recent data on Bovine Tuberculosis is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/incidence-of-tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on prisoners sentenced to death in that country; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and firmly supports freedom of expression in every country. We continue to communicate to the Saudi authorities, our stance on the death penalty at every suitable opportunity. I refer the hon. Member to my statement of 5 January on Saudi Arabia (Official Report, Column 93).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 2 of the actions of the meeting of the Rail Delivery Group National Taskforce of 30 September 2015, what the effect of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015 is on the funding of the British Transport Police.
Claire Perry
Funding for the British Transport Police is not derived directly from a specific Government grant but from holders of police service agreements. However, during the recent spending review, the Department has made clear to the British Transport Police Authority that it considers that appropriate efficiencies should be identified and made. However, it has also emphasised that any efficiencies should not materially impact on the operational policing capability of the British Transport Police, including in relation to counter-terrorist activity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Prime Minister, what recent representations he has made to officials working on the Chilcot Inquiry; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Cameron
I refer the hon. Member to Sir John Chilcot’s letter to me of 28 October 2015, and my reply of 29 October, copies of which can be found on the Iraq Inquiry website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.
Mr Edward Vaizey
DCMS received no funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) programme during the period specified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will be affected by proposed changes to debt repayment arrangements under universal credit.
Justin Tomlinson
Analysis undertaken by DWP has identified a large number of variables that will affect debt repayments from individuals claiming Universal Credit.
This includes, but is not limited to; the number of people claiming Universal Credit, the level of Universal Credit award they receive, the amount of debt they have (across DWP, HMRC and Local Authorities), the approach for recovering debt from Universal Credit and the approach for recovering debt by deduction from earnings.
Considering this, it is likely that most Universal Credit claimants with existing debts or debt repayment arrangements will be affected to some degree. At present there is insufficient data to predict the effects of these variables accurately.
Given the scale of the change, the likely confidence interval for forecasts for any time after 2016-17 is too large to give a meaningful or indicative answer at this time.
However, as Universal Credit rolls out, DWP will continue to analyse all available data to give a wider view on any changes to debt repayment agreements that are being seen under Universal Credit.
In addition, DWP will continue to work with HMRC and Local Authorities in developing forecasting models to show the changes that people with debt will see as their benefit payments move to Universal Credit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 6 June (HL91), what, if any, is the specification for ermine robes with regard to the materials used, and whether there would be any impediment to clothiers, such as those in the Far East, providing robes for peers either for purchase or for hire.
Lord Laming
As set out in the Standing Orders of the House of Lords Relating to Public Business: “When Her Majesty comes publicly to the House, the Lords shall be attired in their robes or in such other dress as may be approved by Her Majesty”. A proposal for robes other than those presently used would be considered by the appropriate authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil servants have been (a) transferred, (b) seconded and (c) given cross-departmental roles with which Department’s since the recent changes to the machinery of government.
Rory Stewart
Since the recent changes to the machinery of government (18th July 2016) DFID has: