The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Rail Minister’s response to the letter of 20 June 2016 from the Chief Executive of the Campaign for Better Transport on the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise.
Claire Perry
No response has yet been issued.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees currently in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre who claim to have suffered persecution in their home country claim to have suffered (a) state and (b) non-state violence.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Information on the reasons for a claim for asylum is not readily accessible from central statistical records and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost through a manual search of individual case files.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the legal responsibilities of those parents who choose to teach their children at home.
Lord Nash
Parents of a child of compulsory school age must comply with the duty in section 7 of the Education Act 1996 to cause the child to receive efficient full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs the child may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. They can meet this duty by electing to educate at home, which is referred to in the Act as education ‘otherwise than at school’.
Local authorities do not have a general responsibility to monitor the education provided by parents, for the purposes of ensuring that parents are meeting their responsibilities. An authority has a duty under s.436A of the Education Act 1996 to make arrangements to establish the identities of children who are not receiving a suitable education. However, the fact that a child is educated at home does not necessarily mean that the child is not receiving a suitable education.
Should it appear that the child is not receiving suitable education, the local authority has a duty under s.437(1) of the Education Act 1996 to serve a notice requiring the parent to satisfy the authority that the child is indeed receiving a suitable education. If the parent is unable to satisfy the authority, and the authority considers it expedient for the child to attend school, then the local authority must issue a school attendance order.
These matters are set out in guidance issued by the Department for Education to local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the independent costings of linking High Speed 2 to the Northern Powerhouse Rail work for both Manchester and Sheffield city centre station locations.
Andrew Jones
Since the publication of the March 2015 Northern Transport Strategy, the government and Transport for the North have undertaken significant work to understand what the capability of the rail infrastructure – between and within cities – would need to be to deliver the Northern Powerhouse Rail vision.
Network Rail and HS2 Ltd. are currently working to establish the scale of investment required. We expect to have an understanding of the relative scale of costs by autumn 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were prosecuted for using a mobile telephone while driving in each year since 2010; and how many such people were subject to the maximum fine.
Dominic Raab
The number of people proceeded against and the maximum fine issued for using or causing to use a mobile phone whilst driving can be viewed on the Ministry of Justice website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the epileptic drug Briviact will be available on the NHS.
George Freeman
Briviact (brivaracetam) became available on the National Health Service following its launch in the United Kingdom in February 2016. It is for clinicians to decide whether to prescribe it to patients.
In the absence of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence, such as clinical trials or peer-reviewed publications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 35843, whether chapels owned and administered by the Ministry of Defence are part of the pilot project exploring the registration of civil marriages and partnerships, including same-sex unions.
Penny Mordaunt
No chapels owned or administered by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are part of the pilot project exploring the registration of civil marriages and partnerships or same-sex unions.
The MOD supports same-sex marriage and is committed to ensuring that couples are not disadvantaged by their service. We have concluded a study of serving LGBT personnel to obtain their view on this matter.
Should a same-sex military couple wish to have a civil marriage ceremony on the Defence Estate, it is a requirement that the same access must be granted to all members of the public. The project is attempting to indentify suitable sites for this purpose.
Should a same-sex couple from the Armed Forces wish to get married in a military Chapel they must follow the rules surrounding the marriage of same sex couples (Military or Civilian) in Military chapels, which are laid out in ‘The Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Use of Armed Forces’ Chapels) Regulations 2014′. At present none of the Churches that send Chaplains to the Armed Forces have opted into the provision of marriage for same-sex couples. Some may seek to change their policy in the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing incentives to encourage householders to have outdoor charging points provided at their premises to encourage the uptake of electric cars.
Anna Soubry
The Government already offers grants of up to £500 towards the cost of installing a chargepoint at home, through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme. All available evidence suggests that electric vehicle drivers prefer to charge at home and at work. Reducing the cost of homecharging removes a potential barrier to uptake and allows owners to charge conveniently and at low cost. Dedicated home chargepoints will also play an important role in the smarter, more dynamic charging and electricity grid.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have had housing support terminated following a failed asylum claim in (a) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency, (b) Liverpool, (c) Merseyside and (d) England in each year since 2010.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Information on numbers of cases who have had support terminated broken down by reason for cessation and by area of the UK, is unavailable and could be produced only at a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Inglewood on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Forestry Commission refuses to allow the use of air rifles by experienced, trained, and insured volunteers as part of an integrated programme for grey squirrel control.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Landowners are free to choose any legal method to control grey squirrels on their own land and to choose the methods they believe to be most effective and appropriate in any location. However, Forestry Commission England currently considers that free shooting has limited effectiveness in controlling grey squirrel populations, with better, more effective methods often available. In addition, the majority of the public forest estate has unrestricted public access and public safety is of paramount importance. For these reasons the Commission does not allow the shooting of grey squirrels by volunteers on its land. Volunteers are, nevertheless, an essential part of controlling grey squirrels and control methodologies continue to be developed and evaluated against the criteria of efficacy, safety and animal welfare. The Commission is additionally encouraging improvements to other methods of control including trapping, as well as assessing the findings of a recent study from Ireland which suggested that an increased pine marten population may result in a reduced grey squirrel population.
The Commission is seriously concerned about the negative impact of grey squirrel populations on woodland and specifically on native woodland. The Government is committed to pursuing co-ordinated action at a national level and in conjunction with partners through the Squirrel Accord, to which both Defra and Forestry Commission England are signatories. Work is continuing to improve the effectiveness of control methods; the structure of grants has been changed to support grey squirrel control and substantial work continues with partners to support our red squirrel populations, including through the control of grey squirrels. The Commission is open to further engagement with national and local organisations as well as landowners sharing our commitment to grey squirrel control for the protection of woodland and red squirrel populations.