The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review and consolidate landlord and tenant legislation.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Government has already introduced important reform to landlord and tenant legislation through the Housing and Planning Bill. Legislation is always kept under review given the complexity of issues in this area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether account is being taken in the proposed sale of the Land Registry of whether interested bidders are based in tax havens; what assessment his Department made in the awarding of such contracts of the competitive advantage given to companies based in tax havens; and what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on banning companies based in tax havens from purchasing assets sold during privatisations.
Anna Soubry
No decision on the future of Land Registry has been taken and as such, no bids have been received. The consultation on moving operations of Land Registry to the private sector closed on 26 May and Government are currently reviewing the responses. Until this is completed, no decision will be made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to include Scottish universities in the Government’s tier 4 Visa Pilot.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Tier 4 visa pilot has been introduced to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within the education sector on the basis of compliance with immigration sponsorship requirements.
The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with institutions selected due to their consistently low visa refusal rates. This is to ensure that the outcomes can be adequately monitored, whilst minimising the risk of unintended consequences, before considering rolling-out the scheme more widely.
Should the pilot be successful, the Home Office will liaise with stakeholders, including Scottish universities, over plans for extending the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the estimated (1) numeracy, and (2) literacy, rate among prisoners in each of the last three years.
Lord Keen of Elie
Prisons should be places of safety and reform. I am determined to make sure that we achieve better outcomes for all prisoners including in education, and I want to see much clearer accountability for prison governors for the education delivered in prison and the results prisoners achieve. Mandatory education assessments were introduced for the first time in August 2014, for all new receptions to custody in England. This shows that in the year to September 2015 fewer than half the people entering prisons had basic standards of English and maths, and around a third had identified learning difficulties or disabilities. Data prior to August 2014 is not available.
Prison education is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to lease US Air Force Poseidon P-8 aircraft prior to the entry into service of the UK P-8 aircraft in 2019-20.
Mr Philip Dunne
There are currently no plans to lease P-8 aircraft.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in the light of the recent inclusion of mental health targets under Sustainable Development Goal 3, whether the Department for International Development plans to review its strategy for funding mental health in low- and middle-income countries.
Baroness Verma
The UK’s health focus in developing countries is on improving the provision of basic health services for the poor by supporting and strengthening health systems, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines. Increasing coverage, equity, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including non-communicable diseases, like mental disorders and dementia.
The Global Goals are a major landmark in our fight against poverty. The UK has lobbied hard to make sure the Global Goals cover the areas not covered by the Millennium Development Goals, to make sure nobody is left behind including those most marginalized. DFID’s principal approach to supporting the Global Goal for health is to strengthen health services, improving coverage, access and quality so that services better address all major causes of ill health including mental health. The UK has played a key role in creating a set of goals that are universal and inclusive and focused on ending chronic poverty forever, for everyone, everywhere. The UK has been a strong and consistent supporter of the need to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) publications, (b) consultation documents and (c) circulars his Department has issued since August 2012; and what the title was of each such publication, consultation document or circular.
Harriett Baldwin
All Treasury consultations published since the department since 2010 can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=hm-treasury&publication_filter_option=consultations
This includes the consultation’s title.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at what stage in the decision making process regarding a third runway at Heathrow Airport he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on that matter.
Mr Robert Goodwill
On 14 December 2015, the Government formally announced that it accepted the Airports Commission’s case for new runway capacity in the South East, as well as the Commission’s three shortlisted schemes. At the same time, it was also announced that the Department for Transport would undertake a package of further work which it anticipates will conclude over the summer. Alongside this, they would prepare an airports national policy statement as the framework for implementing decisions on airport capacity in line with the Planning Act 2008.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-04-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution of 23 March 2016, Official Report, column 1558, when his Department plans to carry out an impact assessment of the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices on the local economy of East Kilbride.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has based its decisions on the location of its future regional centres on a number of key principles including access to a pipeline of talent and the need to retain its current staff and skills.
As part of its initial planning HMRC conducted high level People Impact Assessments to assist the process.
HMRC plans to update the Impact Assessments when one to one discussions have been held between staff and their managers ahead of any office move which may affect them.
The one to one discussions will establish whether or not they can move and the level of support which will be required, including the potential impact on people with protected characteristics.
HMRC plans to retain a presence in East Kilbride as a transitional site until 2025-26.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-06-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a payment of £1,000 to each person reaching the age of 100.
Harriett Baldwin
This government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve and the State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. That is why the government has committed to increasing the State Pension by the triple lock, with someone on a full basic State Pension receiving around £570 more in 2016-17 than if it had been uprated by average earnings since the start of the last Parliament.
In total, the government will spend around £95 billion on the State Pension in 2016-17.