Tag: 2016

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34939, on local housing allowance, when he expects to publish information on the proportion of local authorities that will receive Targeted Affordability Funding.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We plan to publish information about which areas and Local Housing Allowance rates will benefit from the Targeted Affordability Fund later this year.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    George Eustice

    There are no direct employees paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

    There are 2 direct employees currently paid less than the Living Wage in the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), none of which are employed on zero-hours contracts. One is an apprentice and the other is about to have their salary increased to the Living Wage rate.

    There are no employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, APHA, and VMD.

    There are 95 employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in RPA. None are employed on zero-hours contracts. All are paid at least the National Living Wage as defined by the Government.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the proportion of households without working smoke alarms in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Redcar and Cleveland and (d) Middlesbrough in each of the last five years.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Department for Communities and Local Government holds data on the proportion of households without smoke alarms in England from the English Housing Survey which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2014-to-2015-smoke-alarms-in-english-homes-report

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  • Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether his Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether his Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the UK – so we get a better deal for the UK and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with spouses or partners with UK citizenship have been removed from the UK in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is not routinely collected and could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were imprisoned for non-violent drug offences in each year since 2005.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment has he made of the potential impact on innovation in the UK of his Department’s change to government research and development funding from a grant-based to a loan-based system.

    Joseph Johnson

    Like many of our competitor economies, we are looking to provide a wider range of financial products to support, innovation in UK industry. In the coming months, we will, be conducting market research to better understand the needs of innovative businesses in the UK.

    This will be followed by a pilot to test specific financial support mechanisms, with an evaluation in late 2016, leading to a roll-out of a range of new products in 2017. We will continue to provide grant funding to support research and development where appropriate – including, for example, aerospace research supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute and automotive research supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Question 33386, when he expects that the work to produce a plan to progress the initial feasibility and business case for a Euston Station masterplan will be completed.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd are currently working together to produce a plan to progress the initial feasibility and business case work needed for this project over the next two years, which will include the timing, resource required, and estimated cost. We expect to complete this plan by Summer 2016.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the site selection and assessment process of the Education Funding Agency, and how much weight is given to local public opinion during that process.

    Lord Nash

    The Education Funding Agency makes a value for money assessment of each site identified for a new free school. This takes into account factors such as the demand for places in the area and the suitability of the site, including any concerns from local residents.

    Local consultations should take place during the selection of the site and the views of residents are factored in at several stages of the process.

  • Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Venezuelan counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Venezuela.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.

    Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.

    We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.

    Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.