Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s Local Transport Note No. 2/95, published in April 1995, if he will amend that note to assume a lower walking speed for pedestrian crossing timings.

    Andrew Jones

    Local Transport Note 2/95 provides advice to local authorities on calculating timings for crossings.

    The design walking speed of 1.2m/s used in the guidance covers 85% of the population. It is generally felt that this allows enough time for pedestrians to cross, and is long enough to accommodate people that walk more slowly. Where a crossing might be used by a large number of older people or those with mobility issues, for example outside residential care homes, we recommend that this should be taken into account when setting timings. The guidance for crossings is not statutory and local authorities can choose to use a slower walking speed if they deem it suitable.

    The Department is considering how best to update guidance, including that on pedestrian crossings, in light of the revision to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 which came into force on 22 April.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the amount of student loans outstanding was as of 31 March in each of the last three years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Student Loans Company (SLC) administers student loans for each of the UK Government Administrations. Statistics on student loan debt and repayment in England are published annually by the SLC in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Loans in England’. Information on the amount of student loan outstanding as of 31 of March in each of the last three years is available in Table 1. The information can be accessed at the following link:

    http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx

    “

  • Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions his Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials in each of the last two years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department does not hold a comprehensive central record of the information requested. From records in the central Department and each of its executive agencies, the following number of breaches were notified by external consultants or other third parties:

    • 2014 – 3
    • 2015 – 5
  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to reduce the burden of regulation on businesses.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government is committed to cutting £10bn worth of red tape, as set out in the 2015 Conservative Manifesto, and will report on progress by June this year. We are putting forward proposals in the Enterprise Bill to systematically track for the first time the impact of regulators’ actions. This will drive savings through, for instance, simpler guidance, less paperwork and coordinated inspections. Through my department’s Cutting Red Tape programme, businesses are encouraged to report burdens and recommend sectors that Government may wish to review. There are currently seven reviews in progress: Energy; Care; Agriculture; Mineral Extraction; Waste; Anti-Money Laundering; and House Building.

  • Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what modelling his Department used to propose the new transitional benefit arrangements for EU migrants; when benefit payments under those arrangements will be greater than zero per cent; and what proportion of benefits EU migrants will be able to claim in each of the next five years.

    Priti Patel

    These details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Studio Schools currently exist in the UK; how many of those schools are standalone; and how many of those schools have closed.

    Lord Nash

    40 studio schools are currently open. Of these nine are standalone academies.

    Seven studio schools have closed since 2013, of which three were standalone and the remainder were in multi-academy trusts.

  • 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 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2016 to Question 25870, how many (a) officials and (b) other staff are working on the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s recommendations on taxi and private hire vehicle legislation.

    Andrew Jones

    There are currently (a) three officials and (b) no other staff in the Department for Transport working on taxi and private hire vehicle policy. One of those officials works full-time on taxi and private hire vehicles, and it forms a core part of the work load of the other two. Their responsibilities include scrutiny of the Law Commission recommendations for reform of taxi and private hire vehicle legislation. This level of staffing for work on taxis and private hire vehicles remains essentially consistent with that going back to 2009/10. The Government will respond to the Law Commission report once scrutiny is complete.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that families of children with life-shortening conditions receive financial support in order to care for their children.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The benefits available to the parents of children with life shortening conditions will depend on the particular circumstances of their household. Extra support is available to those parents who have had to give up full-time work to care for a child with a health condition or disability through benefits such as Carer’s Allowance, Income Support and Universal Credit. Disability Living Allowance may also be payable for children with a health condition or disability as a contribution towards the extra costs they may incur.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) NHS hospitals, (b) clinics and (c) surgeries in Lancashire have treated sexually transmitted diseases; and how many people were treated at each such institution in 2015.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There were 1,773 new sexually transmitted infection diagnoses made at three genitourinary medicine clinics (GUM) in Lancashire in 2015: St. Peter’s Health Centre (44.8%), Royal Preston Hospital (35.5%) and Ashton Community Care Centre (19.7%).

    There is no data on the number of people treated, as GUM clinics provide treatment whenever it is clinically indicated and, therefore, are not required to specifically report the number of cases treated.

    Data are provided by the GUM clinics through their returns to the genitourinary medicine clinic activity dataset (GUMCADv2) held by Public Health England (not the hospitals). Data from general practice surgeries are not available.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidelines are in place on the amount of time that should be taken to process reimbursement claims from UK citizens for health treatment in other European countries; and what data his Department holds on the average amount of time taken to process such claims.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The EU regulations do not provide set timescales for the processing of reimbursement claims. The DWP Overseas Healthcare Team work proactively with colleagues in the other EEA states to progress reimbursement claims on behalf of UK citizens. When all the appropriate information is received from the relevant EEA state, such claims are normally cleared for reimbursement within 10 days.