The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Snape on 2016-07-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many motorists have been prosecuted for the inconsiderate use of the middle lane on the motorway network since the announcement that the police would take appropriate action to discourage such behaviour.
Earl of Courtown
This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the Children’s Society, The cost of being care free, published in June 2016, if he will take steps to provide additional protection for care leavers to reduce the number of benefits sanctions being applied to such people.
Damian Hinds
Our primary goal is to help care leavers get into work wherever possible and our interventions are tailored to achieve this. Care leavers aged between 18 and 21 have the opportunity to join the Work Programme from day one of their benefit claim, so that they receive tailored, locally-appropriate employment support at the earliest opportunity. We also provide additional support, over and above the standard Jobcentre Plus offer, to young claimants, including care leavers, aged 18-24. Work Coaches tailor interventions to the needs of the individual to address a variety of barriers to work, including improving job search skills, referral to skills and other work-related training such as Traineeships, Apprenticeships and work experience.
We have safeguards in place for care leavers along with other claimants who may be considered vulnerable. Work Coaches support all claimants with complex needs, or who require additional support, to ensure that they fully understand what they have been asked to do to enable them to access DWP benefits and use our services.
Care leavers, like all claimants, take ownership of planning how they will meet their requirements and ultimately secure employment. They will be supported by their Work Coach who will assist them in meeting their requirements through providing encouragement and direction, using a range of communication methods.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to release Cabinet papers for the 1986-1988 period to the National Archives.
Matthew Hancock
Cabinet papers for the period 1986-1989 1988have already been transferred to the National Archives. Transparency is at the heart of this Government’s agenda and we are publishing unprecedented amounts of information.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s plans are for the procurement of IT and digital services beyond the end dates of its current contracts.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department anticipates a shift in the way in which citizens will engage with the Department – with greater digital interaction in the future. Digital Technology, Data and Security capabilities are a key enabler of this shift. The department initiates on an ongoing basis a number of procurement exercises using open competitions under the EU Procurement Directives and call-off competitions under Government Frameworks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) human resources, (b) communications, (c) grant administration, (d) building and estates management and (e) other administrative functions are shared by the seven research councils; and which such services are delivered independently by each research council.
Joseph Johnson
The seven Research Councils currently operate their own corporate functions, with separate Human Resources, Finance, Communications and IT operations.
The Research Councils are working with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on a new digital grants system and common technology platform.
The Research Councils share a number of services including a main campus in Swindon at Polaris House; access to the London base of the Medical Research Council (MRC); and Internal Audit and Assurance functions, which are hosted by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). BBSRC also operate the estates and facilities management of Polaris House.
All seven Councils have their transactional HR, finance, payroll, systems and grants administration provided by UK Shared Business Services and six of the seven Councils share a pension scheme and its administration, with MRC running its own pension scheme.
The Government is implementing Sir Paul Nurse’s report, which recommended an evolution of the Research Councils into a formal organisation with a single Accounting Officer. Sir Paul advised that a new Research UK body could support the whole system to collectively become more than the sum of its parts, including by simplifying transactional operations, reducing the burden of administration currently placed on each individual Research Council, and enabling a stronger focus on multi-disciplinary research. We also want to strengthen collaboration between the research base and the commercialisation of discoveries in the business community and this is why we are looking to integrate Innovate UK into Research UK. Innovate UK will retain its clear business focus and separate funding stream.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Higgins on 2016-03-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the increase in road congestion and the construction of Cycle Superhighways in London, how they will ensure that fire, ambulance, and other emergency service vehicles are able to use Superhighways in the event of a terrorist attack or other major incident.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
London’s cycle superhighways are the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). Emergency service vehicles operating under blue lights will always find the safest and fastest way possible to arrive at a major incident or terrorist attack. This could mean using any part of the highway, including, where necessary and where the road layout allows this, part of a cycle superhighway.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will provide guidance on what communications by e-cigarette manufacturers will fall to be considered as (a) informative and (b) promotional under the provision of the Tobacco Products Directive.
Jane Ellison
The Government recognises that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) help smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. At the same time, it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and that we continue to protect children from the dangers of nicotine. For this reason, the Department welcomes the new rules set out in the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) which will apply in the United Kingdom from 20 May 2016.
The Government has taken a minimal approach to transposition of the TPD provisions on e-cigarette advertising into UK law, taking into account existing European case law. The Directive requires a prohibition of e-cigarette advertising in certain media such as TV and newspapers and online, but not for example on billboards. The provisions are compatible with the right to an individual’s freedom of speech and do not prevent individuals’ independent reviews on social media or internet forums. These provisions are enacted by The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016/507 and changes to the Office of Communications Broadcast Codes.
The Department will work in close partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards, including on the need for further guidance for businesses, especially in the first year of implementation to build compliance with the new requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Joseph Johnson
The proportion of people working in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills HQ who were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff are shown in the table below.
|
Year ending 31 March |
Payroll |
Non payroll |
|
2012 |
90% |
10% |
|
2013 |
89% |
11% |
|
2014 |
90% |
10% |
|
2015 |
97% |
3% |
|
2016 |
98% |
2% |
The data for 2012, 2013 and 2014 also includes people working in UKTI.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to accelerate the reunification of families for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government began work to implement the ‘Dubs amendment’ immediately after the Immigration Bill gained Royal Assent. Over 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer since it received Royal Assent in May, the majority of these have already arrived in the UK.
We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.
We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe.
We also continue to consult local authorities about the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in the Highland area of Scotland with dynamically teleswitched meters receive their electricity supply from Scottish Power.
Jesse Norman
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold estimates on the number of households in the Highland area of Scotland with dynamically teleswitched meters who receive their electricity supply under Scottish Power’s Comfort Control tariff.
In Ofgem’s response to CMA Notice of Remedies published in August 2015, it was estimated that there were 160,000 households across Great Britain with dynamically teleswitched meters in operation at the end of 2014:
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