The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that legacy funding from the Government for the Great Exhibition of the North is spent effectively.
Mr Edward Vaizey
I refer the Honourable member to my response to PQ 39132, answered on the 9th June.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation and contact her Department has undertaken with local authorities on the suitability and conduct of landlords engaged by Serco and its subcontractors to provide accommodation to refugees and asylum seekers under the COMPASS contract.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Home Office works closely with COMPASS providers and local authorities through Strategic Migration Partnerships to plan for the most appropriate dispersal of asylum seekers.
These partnerships allow Providers to formally consult with local authorities and statutory bodies to ensure all new proposed property procurement and landlords meet the required contractual and statutory standards.
Any Local Authority that has concerns about the suitability or conduct of individual landlords can raise this with the Home Office and COMPASS providers either directly or through the Strategic Migration Partnerships.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) EU students, and (2) students of other nationalities, remain in the UK after completing their university courses in the UK; and in each case for how long on average.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. What happens in terms of the migration system that will be established as we leave the EU is a matter that will be very closely scrutinised and looked at in great detail by the government and within the government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to promote design and technology in state-funded schools.
Nick Gibb
Design and Technology (D&T) is compulsory in the national curriculum in England at key stages 1 to 3. By introducing a new, more rigorous D&T curriculum in 2014 and reforming the subject’s GCSE and A level qualifications, we have taken important steps to make D&T an exciting subject, paving the way for young people to progress into careers in a range of engineering and design fields.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when 100 per cent of residents in St Albans will have access to superfast broadband; and when ultrafast broadband will be rolled out in St Albans.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Based on current delivery plans, it is estimated that 98% of premises in the St Albans constituency will have access to superfast broadband by the end of June 2018. Additional funding sources, including Herts & Bucks share of the £129 million of early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, could allow coverage to be extended further in St Albans and the rest of the area covered by the Herts & Bucks broadband project.
Virgin Media already provides services over 100Mbps in many urban areas, including extensive network coverage in St Albans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) Shropshire Council, (b) Telford and Wrekin Council and (c) Highways England put in place road safety improvements to reduce the number of road deaths and injuries on roads in (i) Shropshire and (ii) Telford and Wrekin.
Andrew Jones
Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 puts a ‘statutory duty’ on the local authorities to deliver an appropriate road safety education service and for the provision of a safe local road network.
It is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their “statutory duty”. However, following the 2015 Spending Review the Government will continue to provide funding through the Integrated Transport block for local highway authorities to support small-scale initiatives, including road safety schemes. This funding is not ring-fenced and gives local authorities the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit their localities.
More widely, from within the record £6.1 billion to be allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, Shropshire has been allocated £86million and Telford and Wrekin £18million (including indicative allocations from 2018/19 to 2020/21) plus Telford has also been allocated £10.3million from the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund. This compares to £79million allocated to Shropshire and £15.6million to Telford and Wrekin covering the period 2010 to 2015.
Highways England has made a commitment to review routes in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin over the next five years.
Safety improvements are proposed on the A5/B5070 at Gledrid Roundabout in the 2016/17 financial year. Potential safety schemes have also been identified in Shropshire, and in Telford & Wrekin, and these will be considered over the 5-year Roads Investment Strategy. These are detailed below.
All of these works will be subject to available funding and are not, as yet, programmed for delivery.
An A5 corridor study has also been commissioned to identify a long term strategy for addressing the changing needs and function of the A5 trunk road corridor between Chirk and Preston Boats. This study will consider current issues with the existing corridor, summarising the implications of growth and providing a set of highway options to address congestion and safety, for consideration within future financial years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30500, what the alternative arrangements are that provide funding for National Crime Agency investigations into non-recent child sexual abuse.
Mike Penning
The non-recent child sexual abuse investigations being conducted by the National Crime Agency are in response to requests from the Chief Officer of the local police forces. As such, the funding for these investigations is from the local police forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their formal response to the Choice in end of life care review will be published before the purdah period ahead of the EU referendum begins.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government recognises that the response to the Review of Choice in End of Life Care is keenly awaited. Ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences is a priority for this Government, and the response to the Choice Review is therefore being carefully considered.
As previously set out, in its response the Government will address each of the Review recommendations including: care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care. Further details regarding the publication of the response, which is expected shortly, will be made available when it is appropriate to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks are held in reserve in the UK.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Challenger 2 is a highly capable Main Battle Tank and sits at the heart of the Army’s war fighting Armoured Infantry Brigades and is a key part of the UK’s capability. The current Challenger 2 fleet consists of 227 main battle tanks all of which would be available for operational use if required.
The following Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps are equipped with Challenger 2: The King’s Royal Hussars, Tidworth; The Queen’s Royal Hussars, Germany and The Royal Tank Regiment, Tidworth. We do not routinely comment on specific levels of readiness and locations for individual capabilities as to do so would compromise operational security, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
As at May 2016 the Challenger 2 fleet was assessed to meet 100% of the fleet size and deployability requirements as set out in the 2015-16 Army Readiness Order.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of offenders on probation housed in Approved Premises.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Approved Premises (formerly known as probation or bail hostels) are used to provide enhanced supervision for higher-risk offenders who have been released from prison after completing the custodial part of their sentence. They also house a small number of defendants on bail. My Department is analysing the capacity and distribution of the Approved Premises estate to establish whether more places are needed.