Tag: 2016

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39301, what systems are in place for departments and funds spending official development assistance (ODA) to provide accurate and timely information on their ODA spending to her Department.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    All departments or funds spending official development assistance (ODA) are responsible for ensuring they provide accurate and timely information on their ODA to the Department for International Development (DFID). DFID provides on-going support on data collection, and collates the information for in-year monitoring of ODA and the final reporting of UK ODA statistics.

  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the Official Development Assistance contribution to India will fulfil the objectives set out by the Secretary of State for International Development on 15 August following her visit to India.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The economic and development objectives set out by the Secretary of State on 15 August are underpinned by technical assistance and development capital investment. Objectives for the use of Official Development Assistance in India are agreed by the National Security Council.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to section 3.3 of his recently published British Road Safety Statement, how the incentive element of local roads maintenance funding will operate.

    Andrew Jones

    Well-planned maintenance to prevent potholes and other defects forming on the roads is vital. Councils that do this well get better value for every pound spent and improve their customer satisfaction. So, from 2016/17, this Government is introducing incentive funding to help encourage local highway authorities to manage their road networks better and achieve greater efficiencies. I hope we reach a point where, through efficiencies and collaboration, every highway authority receives the maximum level of funding available.

    The Department for Transport is providing record funding of over £6.1 billion funding to local highway authorities in England between 2015 and 2021 for local highways maintenance.

    This is additional to the funding of over £4.7 billion the Government provided to local highway authorities between 2010 and 2015 for highways maintenance. Between 2010 to 2015 the maintenance funding was 27% or £1billion higher than in the previous five years.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24265, when he plans to (a) assess how many further education institutions are likely to incur financial penalties as a result of triggering break clauses in loan agreements they hold with banks resulting from his Department’s area reviews and (b) publish such data.

    Nick Boles

    I refer the hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 24265

    “

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether local authorities will be required to seek specific permission from Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government if they wish to provide an exemption from the anti-advocacy clause in a grant agreement.

    Matthew Hancock

    The new clause applies to all central government grants. We expect that exemptions will be rare and these will need to be approved by the relevant Minister.

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reports that a doctor prescribed performance-enhancing drugs to 150 athletes, what steps they are taking to ensure that sports in the UK are free from doping.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is deeply concerned by these allegations. Sports fans are entitled to be sure that what they are watching is true and fair with all athletes competing on a level playing field. We are grateful for the investigative journalism by the Sunday Times for bringing these apparent abuses to light, and we have asked for there to be an urgent independent investigation into what action was taken when these allegations were first received and what more needs to be done to ensure that British sport remains clean. The Government is also looking at whether existing legislation in this area goes far enough. If it becomes clear that stronger criminal sanctions are needed then we will not hesitate to act.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of UK development aid on increasing primary school attendance in Bangladesh since 2000.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has supported significant improvements in primary school attendance through its contribution to the primary education sector programme and projects working with NGOs and civil society.

    Overall primary school attendance increased in Bangladesh from 84% to 97% between 2010 and 2015.

    Since 2010, DFID has supported 820,000 children (including 456, 000 girls) in primary education, of which 462,000 (261,000 girls) completed primary education.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39847, on travel, what the road traffic forecast estimates are for each of the forecast scenarios 2 to 5 for future (a) annual trips by mode per person and (b) average length of trips by mode.

    Andrew Jones

    The data requested and previously provided for scenario 1 in Question 39847 is not readily available for the scenarios 2 to 5, published in Road Traffic Forecasts 2015.

    Estimates of future trips by mode was not produced for all scenarios as the Department’s National Transport Model is primarily used to forecast road travel, and is not typically used to forecast demand for other modes.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the NATO Secretary General on North Korea’s nuclear tests in 2016.

    Alok Sharma

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has not discussed this issue directly with the NATO Secretary General. At the NATO Warsaw Summit in July 2016, Heads of Government called on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) to immediately cease its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. The Secretary General issued a statement on 9 September condemning the DPRK’s fifth nuclear test and called on it to fully respect its international obligations and commitments, including UN Security Council Resolutions.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of reinstating the qualifying age for pension credit to its 1995 timetable.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Pension Credit was designed to provide income related support for people without sufficient provision for their retirement and as such the qualifying age for both men and women has been linked to women’s State Pension age since its introduction.

    Our initial estimates of the cost of retaining the 1995 timetable for the qualifying age for Pension Credit were published in response to a question from Lord Boswell in 2011 Hansard vol. 725, column 1607, 9 March 2011.

    We have not formally updated this costing but we have reconsidered the evidence based on the latest information and our analysis indicates that the cost of breaking the link between the Pension Credit qualifying age and women’s State Pension age is likely to be significantly higher than previously estimated for a number of reasons including:

    – Women under State Pension age would be entitled to larger amounts of Pension Credit than the original analysis assumed.

    – This may incentivise more women to stop working and claim Pension Credit instead.

    In addition to the impacts considered above there would also be increased expenditure on other benefits, most notably Housing Benefit, localised Council Tax Support, the Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments which were not included in the original figures.