The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been received from the EU to meet expenditure arising from or in connection with High Speed 2 since 2009.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport was awarded €39.2 million for HS2 under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility. This funding will be provided in stages between 2015 and 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-06-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the financial regulators have completed their review of the risk algorithms to be used to permit cross-margining by central counterparties to facilitate the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Borse; whether the results of this review will be published, and whether any further steps will be taken to strengthen confidence in central clearing houses.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The timings of regulatory reviews of any proposal by a CCP to make significant changes to its margining arrangements would be a matter for the company and regulators acting in accordance with the relevant legislation. The Bank of England’s 2016 Annual Report on the supervision of financial market infrastructures, laid before Parliament on 4 March 2016, provides further information about ongoing regulatory initiatives in relation to CCPs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2016-07-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current anticipated outturn costs and in-service dates for (1) Project Mensa, and (2) Project Pegasus, at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Earl Howe
The anticipated outturn costs cannot be provided. The current approved costs and in-service dates for Project Mensa and Project Pegasus are shown below.
In-service dates are shown in bandings to avoid prejudice to national security and defence.
The Main Gate business cases for Projects Mensa and Pegasus include estimates for risk and uncertainty, which are contained within the approved costs.
|
Project |
In-service period |
Approved cost (£million) |
|
Project Mensa (warhead assembly/disassembly) |
2016-20 |
734 |
|
Project Pegasus (uranium components) |
2016-20 |
634 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people using mobile phones while driving; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones
The government’s recent consultation on bringing in tougher sanctions received near unanimous support for tougher penalties. The Secretary of State for Transport has pledged to bring tougher sanctions in as soon as possible, we expect them to take effect in the first half of 2017.
Anyone using a hand-held device while driving will face higher on the spot fines and more points on their driving licence than they do today.
The government is also developing a hard-hitting THINK! campaign to tackle this issue, to make it socially unacceptable like drink driving or not wearing a seatbelt.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to tackle people-smuggling in the Mediterranean.
Mrs Theresa May
We have established an Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce of 100 officers from the NCA, Crown Prosecution Service, and the Home Office to disrupt organised immigration crime groups upstream, including through the Mediterranean routes, and in the UK. The UK is also supporting the EU Naval Forces Operation in the Mediterranean. We are determined to disrupt organised immigration criminal activities which impact adversely on our security and have such a wanton disregard for human life.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the public health and public order effects of excessive drinking.
Jane Ellison
The Government, through the Public Health Outcomes Framework, measures alcohol harm and the impact of local authorities’ actions on public health. Public Health England (PHE) produces local alcohol profiles which provide local authority level data to enable professionals and the public to see the harms that alcohol contributes to in their area.
PHE has recently run a campaign, Health Matters, aimed at public health professionals and others to highlight the costs of harmful drinking and dependent use of alcohol, and the benefits that come from local areas investing in interventions to reduce those harms.
For the last two years, PHE has worked with the charity Alcohol Concern, in promoting the ‘Dry January’ campaign. This mass participation event encourages people to ‘go dry’ for a month. In 2015, 50,000 people signed up, with 67% of participants reporting lower drinking levels six months later. PHE has continued to support Dry January in 2016.
PHE also offer specific marketing programmes aimed toward young people to reduce the uptake of risky behaviours, including alcohol consumption.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26407, what funding for cycling in London is included within the (a) £925 million of capital funding and (b) £659 million of resource funding paid to Transport for London.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The annual funding grant paid to the Greater London Authority by the Department is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been paid in personal independence payments to (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens in each of the last five years.
Justin Tomlinson
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been available in Great Britain since April 2013 and will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year. A person’s nationality is not a consideration when assessing entitlement to PIP; rather it is whether they have a right to reside in Great Britain and whether they have met the presence conditions which are material. Information on the amount of PIP paid to UK and non-UK citizens is not available. Information on benefit expenditure as is available is published on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions Government officials have accompanied representatives of British overseas territories or Crown dependencies to meetings with the European Commission in the last five years.
James Duddridge
The UK is responsible for the international relations of the Overseas Territories, which have a specific status within the European Union Treaties. The Overseas Association Decision is the instrument which sets out the relationship between the European Union and the Overseas Territories of the Member States. In 2015 I attended the annual Forum bringing together Territory leaders, senior representatives from the European Commission and the Member States. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials meet approximately six times a year with the Territories and the Commission to take forward cooperation under the Overseas Association Decision. Other government departments provide officials when required if the subject matter falls within their area of competence.
The United Kingdom is also responsible for the international relations of the Crown Dependencies which have a special relationship with the European Union under Protocol 3 to the United Kingdom’s Treaty of Accession to the European Community.
United Kingdom Government officials meet regularly with Crown Dependency and Overseas Territory representatives to discuss forthcoming business; information sharing is a matter of routine. The Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories make their own preparations for meetings with the European Commission but Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials assist when asked to do so. Support is also available from other government departments and the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union should it be required.