The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many staff in the Government Equalities Office receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.
Caroline Dinenage
No staff receive the above allowances in the Government Equalities Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the report produced by MindMetre Research How Sharp Are We On Safety?, they will take further steps to improve the mandatory compliance with EU Council Directive 2010/32/EU and the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.
Lord Prior of Brampton
It is for individual National Health Service provider organisations to ensure that policies, procedures and practices in the affected clinical areas are consistent with current regulations and that requisitions for sharps clearly stipulate the requirement for safer sharps.
We are not aware of any restriction in the availability of products that comply with the Health and Safety (Sharps Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013 for the areas of care as outlined within the ‘How Sharp are we on Safety’ report, published in October 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on publication of the registers of gifts and hospitality for civil servants.
Matthew Hancock
We publish details of gifts and hospitality received by the most senior civil servants on a quarterly basis.
The rules for civil servants, including special advisers, on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality are set out in the Civil Service Code, Civil Service Management Code and departmental staff handbooks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how frequent the partnership meetings between his Department and Rail North are; and who represents his Department at those meetings.
Andrew Jones
The Rail North Partnership Strategic Board currently meets on a monthly basis to oversee the work of the Partnership Management Team.
The Department’s representatives on this Board are the Markets Director, Passenger Services; the Deputy Director Midlands, North & Wales, Passenger Services; and the Programme Director, Network Services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2016-07-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress the UK–German initiative for Bosnia–Herzegovina, announced in November 2014, has made; what recent discussions they have had with the government of Germany regarding that initiative; and what plans there are for continued UK engagement in that initiative.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK-German initiative was adopted by the EU at the December 2014 Foreign Affairs Council. Since then, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) party leaders have signed a written commitment to implement a package of reforms (Reform Agenda); BiH’s Stabilisation and Association Agreement has come into force (1 June 2015); and BiH submitted its application for EU membership on 15 February 2016. Whilst some progress has been made in implementing the Reform Agenda, more needs to be done. The Government is in regular contact with Germany, other Member States and the EU institutions to encourage BiH’s leaders to maintain progress on reform. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed implementation of the Reform Agenda with the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Denis Zvizdić, when they met on 11 July.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Highways England plan to investigate using (1) a tunnel which avoids visual and physical damage to the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site and its setting, and (2) traffic management measures to discourage travel at peak times, for the A303 at Stonehenge.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Highways England are considering a number of options for improving the section of the A303 close to Stonehenge, which include a variety of tunnel options. The results will be available for consideration at a public consultation to be held in 2017. However, they do not have any plans for the historic site at Avebury, as the A4361 is the responsibility of Wiltshire Council.
Highways England are committed to encourage the public to plan their journeys in advance and to consider using England’s motorways and major trunk roads of peak hours.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the overall performance of the National Crime Agency during its first year of total operation in Northern Ireland.
Lord Bates
Since 20 May 2015, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has been operating with full powers in Northern Ireland. As the NCA recently reported to the Northern Ireland Policing Board on 16 December 2015, from 01 April 2015 up to 30 September 2015, the NCA has recorded 29 disruptions against organised crime groups and high priority threats operating in Northern Ireland. The scope of the NCA’s crime-fighting capability within the jurisdiction has expanded. The NCA has worked in partnership with the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the support that the NCA provides law enforcement partners, particularly the PSNI has been enhanced.
The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (National Crime Agency and Proceeds of Crime) (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 requires the Northern Ireland Policing Board to monitor the exercise of the functions of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland. The interim Memorandum of Understanding between the National Crime Agency and the Northern Ireland Policing Board states the Board is required, not later than six months after the end of each financial year, to issue a report relating to the policing of Northern Ireland for the next financial year. The report will include an assessment of the exercise of the functions of the NCA in Northern Ireland.
The NCA is committed to playing its role in tackling serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland. Hence, the NCA will be fully engaged in delivering the commitment outlined in the ‘A Fresh Start: The Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan’ to a concerted and enhanced effort to combat serious and organised and cross border crime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have undertaken any analysis to determine why there has been an increase in the number of homeless people; and, if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of the Homeless Prevention Fund provided to local authorities and increased funding of programmes for the homeless.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
This Government has always been clear that we are committed to supporting the most vulnerable people in our society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our commitment to increase central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the next four years.
We are working with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support. Through a series of roundtables we have already started conversations to help shape and inform our future approach to tackling homelessness and deciding our investment priorities.
During the last Parliament the Homelessness Prevention Grant and our investment in homelessness programmes helped prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless.
We will continue to use the information provided to us by local authorities to assess the causes of homelessness and the extent of homelessness prevention and relief activity, in order to help shape future policy and investment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much compensation has been paid or committed to any company involved in cross-channel traffic because of losses or additional costs due to the number of migrants in the Calais area.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The department has not paid or committed to pay compensation to any company involved in cross-channel traffic because of losses or additional costs due to the number of migrants in the Calais area.
The Business Support Helpline is available to businesses seeking advice on managing disruption.
In the 2015 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer committed £250 million to finding a long term solution to Operation Stack.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the net earnings were from direct investment in UK companies 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.