The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Leader of the House, what the annual budget is for food produced for his Office; and what proportion of food produced for his Office was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.
Chris Grayling
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 31 May 2016, to Question UIN 37901.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in (a) Sheffield and (b) Sheffield City Region have died from (i) lung cancer, (ii) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (iii) mesothelioma and (iv) other lung conditions in each year since 2010.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to mark the centenary of the independence of the Baltic states, and in particular the role played by the Royal Navy in protecting Estonia and its neighbours from the Soviet Navy.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Preparations are underway for the centenary celebrations in the Baltic States. The Royal Navy played a significant role in the war for independence in Estonia and Latvia and we hope the Senior Service will be able to feature in the 2018 and 2019 celebrations. The British Army and Royal Air Force will also be involved in marking these celebrations. The UK Government will be represented at centenary events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) definitive, and (2) actionable, diagnoses are made for every 1,000 genomes sequenced as part of the rare disease arm of 100,000 Genomes Project; and how many diagnoses they estimate would have been made if the Project were run using (1) whole, and (2) medical, exome technology; and if those estimates are not available, why not.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The 100,000 Genomes Project is not intended to provide definitive or actionable findings from whole genome sequencing. This is the responsibility of the National Health Service Genomic Medicine Centres based on interpretation reports provided by Genomics England. To date approximately 20 reports have been issued based on the initial interpretation of the pilot phase genome data. It is not possible to estimate the comparison between whole genome and exome methods for these patients. That is because the eligibility criteria for patients to be invited to participate in the 100,000 Genomes Project require that they remain undiagnosed after standard NHS diagnostic tests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what budgets and programmes have been established since 2014 to help the regeneration of council housing estates.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
A total of £290 million of loan funding has been allocated by the Government to help the regeneration of local authority housing estates. The first tranche of this funding was announced jointly between the Greater London Authority and the Department for Communities and Local Government on 13 June 2014, and the second was announced by the my rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cases of (1) corporate, and (2) individual, tax evasion in each of the last five years have involved a British Overseas Territory or a Crown Dependency.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The information requested is not available in this format.
HM Revenue and Customs publishes estimates of the tax gap each year. The latest edition was published on 22 October 2015 and is available on the gov.uk website.
Estimates are made for all major taxes, including corporation tax and income tax. However, this information is not broken down in such a way that can be used to identify the loss of tax receipts due to the tax regimes requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the National Curriculum when all schools become academies.
Nick Gibb
In 2014 the Government introduced a new, more rigorous national curriculum which was developed with regard to the views of subject experts and teachers and to the findings of international best practice comparisons.
A system where every school is an academy will mean that the national curriculum will be a benchmark. It will serve an important role in setting out the level of knowledge-based, academically rigorous education which every child should experience.
If academies or Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) want to deliver the national curriculum in their schools, they can do so confidently. The Government wants academies to use their freedoms to innovate and build challenging, tailored curricula to meet the particular needs of their pupils, their local area or the particular ethos of the school.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to make public transport more accessible for people with guide dogs.
Andrew Jones
The Department is committed to building transport networks which work for everyone, including ensuring that disabled people have the same opportunities to travel as other members of society.
From the 1st January this year all single deck buses designed to carry over twenty two passengers on local and scheduled routes have had to comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR), which require vehicles to include contrasting handrails, priority seating and other features of benefit to visually impaired people. At least one priority seat on each bus must have sufficient space to accommodate an assistance dog with its owner. Double deck buses must comply with PSVAR by the 1st January 2017.
Positive interactions with staff can also give visually impaired people the confidence to use bus services. We are working with Mott MacDonald to review disability awareness training from across the transport sector, and to produce best practice guidance by the end of 2016, to help equip bus drivers with the skills and knowledge they need to provide disabled passengers with a first class service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-07-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution on 4 July 2016, Official Report, column 626, on what date he (a) decided not to introduce an emergency budget and (b) asked the OBR to assess the effect of the EU referendum result on the economy.
Harriett Baldwin
As the Chancellor has said, the referendum result will have an impact on the economy and public finances – and there will need to be action to address that. Given the delay in triggering Article 50 and the Prime Minister’s decision to hand over to a successor, it is sensible that decisions on what that action should consist of should wait until the Office of Budget Responsibility has made an economic forecast in the Autumn.
The Chancellor will commission the OBR to provide an Autumn forecast in the usual way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial or other assistance they are making available to the Palestinian territories currently governed by the State of Israel.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
DFID provided £72 million in financial year 2015/16 in support of Palestinian development to help build Palestinian institutions, deliver basic services and promote economic development.
As the Secretary of State has recently taken up her new role, she is conducting a full examination of our work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) to ensure UK taxpayers’ money is spent in the right places and in the right way.