Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Kramer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Kramer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to have balanced the structural deficit excluding capital expenditure.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The measure of the structural deficit that excludes capital is the ‘Cyclically-adjusted current budget’ (CACB). According to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2015 ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’, the CACB is forecast to reach a surplus by 2017-18 of 0.5 per cent of GDP.

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cycling and walking projects will be funded annually by the (a) Government’s £80 million five-year Access Fund and (b) Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In February 2016 we confirmed that the Access Fund would be preceded by a £20m Sustainable Travel Transition Year. This competition is live and I therefore cannot confirm how many projects it will support. That said, support for cycling and walking is one of the Fund’s objectives and all bids will need to demonstrate support for cycling and walking in order to secure funding.

    The remaining £60m will support the Access Fund, which will launch in summer 2016. I cannot confirm how many projects will be supported by the Access fund, but, similar to the Sustainable Travel Transition Year, I can confirm that support for cycling and walking will be a key funding criterion. We therefore anticipate that all successful projects will support cycling and walking in some way.

    The Local Sustainable Transport Fund concluded in March 2016. All 44 projects in 2015/16 supported cycling and walking in some way.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools spent more than one year in temporary accommodation in each year since 2011.

    Edward Timpson

    Since the start of the programme in 2011, around 200 free schools have opened in some form of temporary accommodation. The majority of these schools have spent one to two years in temporary accommodation before moving to their permanent site.

    Opening free schools in temporary accommodation has ensured that we have been able to meet a need for places and support free school trusts to open much needed new schools at the earliest opportunity.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much electricity has been generated by Teesside Wind Farm in each year since it opened.

    Jesse Norman

    The Teesside Offshore Wind farm has generated the following amounts of electricity in each year since it opened;

    2013 (July to December):

    79,405 MWh

    2014

    121,808 MWh

    2015

    210,057 MWh

    2016 (January to March)

    57,729 MWh

    This information is publically available on the Ofgem website at:

    https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0.

    “

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have lost their entitlement to motability cars during their reassessment from disability living allowance to personal independence payment; and how many such claimants have subsequently had their motability cars reinstated following an appeal to the first-tier tribunal in each year since 2010.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Department does not routinely collect information on the numbers of people who have had to return a Motability vehicle nor on whether they were successful on appeal. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme, including collating its own management information. Whilst the Department meets regularly with Motability to discuss scheme performance, questions relating to the details of the scheme’s operation should be directed to Motability itself.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of local authority social housing residents have access to the internet at home.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is on target to deliver access to superfast broadband for 95% of UK premises by December 2017, and to extend coverage beyond that as far as possible. As the Prime Minister announced last autumn, the government proposes that by the end of this parliament people should have a legal right to request access to a good level of broadband speed, no matter where they live.

    The honourable member will be pleased to hear that in her Great Grimsby constituency, 96 per cent of homes and businesses can already access superfast broadband – and it is estimated that coverage will rise to98 per cent by the end of 2017. Additional funding sources, including the £129 million of gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, will allow coverage to be extended further in Great Grimsby and the rest of the area covered by the North Lincolnshire broadband project.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff in his Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.

    Joseph Johnson

    If staff are on a detached duty or overseas postings they can claim for certain travel expenses. Out of 2514 employees in BIS HQ, fewer than 20 employees are paid reasonable extra travel costs. These are paid for a limited period.

    There are no BIS policies that allow the payments of car allowances or subsidised health insurance to employees. However BIS has a legal obligation to honour contractual arrangements when staff join through a TUPE transfer including car allowances and subsidised health cover. Due to TUPE transfers, there are fewer than 20 employees paid car allowances or subsidised health cover. These benefits would not be renewed for new employees.

    As the number of payments are so low, exact numbers have not been provided to ensure that individual employees are not identifiable.

    The requested information is not held by BIS in respect of non-Departmental Public Bodies.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 28993, whether he plans to give Ministerial approval to relax the restrictions of the public sector exit cap on employees of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

    Greg Hands

    The power to relax restrictions on exit payments imposed by the cap will enable decisions to be taken on individual or collective cases where there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the cap being relaxed. This would be subject to scrutiny and approval by the relevant Minister in accordance with directions issued by the Treasury. The relevant Minister for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority would be the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

    The Government can confirm that the regulations detailing the relaxation provisions will not come into force before 1 October 2016 and therefore all exits before that date will not be within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees of his Department are employed to investigate benefit fraud; what the estimated cost to the taxpayer is of such fraud; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    As of March 2016, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employed around 3,765 staff involved in work relating to investigation of benefit fraud and error.

    The information requested on the estimated cost to the taxpayer is published and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33136, whether her Department provides guidance to academies on the consultation of local people on admission policies.

    Nick Gibb

    All state funded schools, including academies, are required to comply with the Statutory School Admissions Code. The Code provides clear guidance on how admission authorities are required to consult on their admission arrangements, including the requirement to consult locally, for a minimum of six weeks, before making any changes to admission arrangements, and where no changes are proposed, the requirement to consult at least once every seven years, to ensure that the admission arrangements continue to meet local need.