Tag: Diana Johnson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-03-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Harriett Baldwin

As stated in the most recent HM Treasury annual report and accounts (2014-15), the department’s communications during 2014-15 focused on ensuring the public and stakeholders understood changes to government economic and fiscal policy. The department continues to pursue a low cost communications approach, making full use of media relationships and social media.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentre plus offices have been able to issue National Insurance numbers to new arrivals into the UK in each of the last six years.

Priti Patel

From 2010 to 2013 DWP had 2 specialist National Insurance number (NINo) Centres (Glasgow and Isle of Wight) able to issue NINos .

In 2014, DWP issued NINos from 3 sites (Glasgow, Isle of Wight and Tooting).

In 2015, DWP issued NINos from 5 sites (Glasgow, Isle of Wight, Tooting, Slough and Cambridge)

In 2016, to date, DWP is issuing NINos from 4 sites (Glasgow, Isle of Wight, Tooting and Slough)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on future collaboration with the EU on air pollution and the transposition into UK law of Directive 2008/50/EC.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union (EU) and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation. The outcome of these negotiations will determine what arrangements apply in relation to EU legislation and funding in future once the UK has left the EU.

The subject matter of the Ambient Air Quality Directive (Directive 2008/50/EC) is devolved. As regards England, the Directive was transposed by the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the practical consequences of re-introducing a visa system for EU citizens entering the UK and the ability of UK embassies and consulates to fulfil this requirement.

Mr Robin Walker

The process for leaving the EU and determining our future relationship, including freedom of movement, will be a complex one, so we need to take time to think through our objectives and approach. We want to ensure the best possible outcome for Britain and the future UK-EU relationship.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential costs to the (a) financial sector, (b) legal services sector and (c) professional services sector of not having access to the EU Single Market.

Mr David Jones

The government is keenly aware of the importance of these sectors to the economy. The new department is undertaking a great deal of factual and detailed work to establish how best to deliver the government’s objectives, to ensure that we achieve the best possible outcome for the British people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will conduct an assessment on the potential effect on the manufacturing sector in Britain of reverting back to World Trade Organisation terms for exports.

Mr Nick Hurd

There has been no decision on the future terms of trade for the UK. In preparation for negotiations to leave the EU, the Government is undertaking work across a range of areas, including market access, across all sectors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 30754, how many arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia have been revoked in each year since 2009-10.

Mark Garnier

Data relating to export licences issued, refused or revoked for all destinations is published as official statistics on the GOV.UK website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff his Department plans to employ by the end of the current financial year; and in which regions those staff will be employed.

Mr Robin Walker

The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with the task at hand.

As a new department we do not yet hold diversity data for all of our staff but we will be collecting this in line with standard Civil Service practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding has been provided to the (a) Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga, (b) Kurdish government in Northern Syria and (c) Yazidi community to (i) gather evidence of alleged acts of genocide and (ii) support displaced persons in refugee camps.

James Wharton

Since June 2014, DFID has committed £129.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable internally displaced people in Iraq, including Yezidis and those living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. To date, the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. Our support is reaching vulnerable and displaced Syrians, including those living in areas controlled by Kurdish groups.

On 21 July the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK will lead a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes. In Iraq, the Foreign Office has funded projects to support the documentation of Daesh crimes and preservation of evidence. In Syria, UK funding supports a range of NGO partners to compile case files of evidence of atrocities approximating to International Criminal Court (ICC) standards.

DFID has not provided funding to the Peshmerga, or to the governing authorities in Kurdish-dominated parts of Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 13604, on tenancy deposit schemes, what the total value was of the deposit money (a) given back to tenants and (b) withheld by landlords in each of the schemes for each of the years listed.

Gavin Barwell

The three Government approved Tenancy Deposit Schemes in England help ensure that tenants are treated fairly at the end of their tenancy through protecting deposits.

A deposit can be protected in a custodial scheme where the deposit is paid (submitted) and held by the scheme until the end of the tenancy. The scheme will pay the deposit back (return) to the tenant if they have fulfilled all their obligations at the end of the tenancy. A deposit can also be protected in an insured scheme, where the landlord or agent holds the deposit and pays it back to the tenant at the end of the tenancy. The deposit is not submitted to or returned by the scheme.

The figures available for the number of deposits protected for tenants in Greater London since 2011, are set out in Table 1, and for deposits submitted and returned in Table 2.

Table 1 – tenant’s deposits protected in Greater London

Year	Total number of deposits protected
2011-12	434,031
2012-13	398,635
2013-14	453,200
2014-15	499,098
2015-16	545,937

Table 2 – tenant’s deposits submitted and returned in Greater London

Year	Number of deposits submitted	Number of deposits returned
2011-12	74,202	55,550
2012-13	77,709	62,341
2013-14	82,613	67,583
2014-15	88,465	70,105
2015-16	90,849	76,305

The differences between the number of deposits submitted and returned are due to different lengths of tenancies, cases going through the dispute resolution process, and the protection of more deposits as the private rental market continues to grow.

Overall, 98 per cent of all deposits protected in England since the launch of the tenancy deposit scheme in 2007, are returned to the tenant at the end of their tenancy.