Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will conduct an assessment of the appropriateness of the definition of houses in multiple occupation; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis

The Department considers the definition of a house in multiple occupation, as set out in the Housing Act 2004, is appropriate and has no plans to change it. We have recently issued a technical discussion paper on whether to extend mandatory licensing to those houses in multiple occupation with fewer than three storeys and plan to publish our response and proposed next steps in the coming months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much UK embassies spent on official hospitality in 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the level of such spending in 2015-16.

Mr David Lidington

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in London and in more than 260 embassies and consulates around the world organise events and other forms of official hospitality to support the UK’s foreign policy interests, promote British business; attract foreign investment and to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday.

In 2014-15 the FCO spent £806,000 on official hospitality. In 2013-14 the FCO spent £1,164,000 on official hospitality. Figures for 2015-16 will be reported in the next FCO Annual Report and Accounts, which will be published in June 2016.

All hospitality spend is kept under close scrutiny to ensure it is effective and gives value for money.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the likely timetable for conclusion of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

There have now been twelve rounds of negotiations for the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The twelfth round took place in Brussels last week. We are making progress and our ambition remains to reach a political agreement on the bulk of the deal during the Obama presidency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26579, what financial assistance her Department provided to charities who support women and children who have suffered an instance of domestic abuse in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

The previous Government provided £40 million of stable funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015, equating to £10 million per year and including funding for independent domestic violence advisers, MARAC coordinators and national helplines.

This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refugees, and a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refugees. This funding supports all victims of domestic abuse including those with children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March to Question 28299, on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, if he will estimate the cost to his Department of each of the 12 rounds of negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

The European Commission conducts trade negotiations – including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – on behalf of the EU and, where appropriate, Member States. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not therefore incur the direct costs of the TTIP negotiating rounds.

It is rare that travel undertaken by Ministers and officials relates solely to TTIP, but will usually encompass other issues. Officials within the Transatlantic and International Unit in my Department have the lead policy responsibility for TTIP as well as certain other international matters. The total travel expenditure by these officials in 2014/15 was £25,081, in 2015/16 £14,269.

The cost to the Department of any travel undertaken in relation to TTIP is greatly offset by the economic prize that an ambitious agreement offers. Independent analysis shows that a comprehensive TTIP agreement could give an annual boost to the UK economy of as much as £10 billion each year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of immigration on the level of economic productivity over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands

As noted in the 2012 report by the Migration Advisory Committee the empirical literature suggests that the impact of migration on productivity may be mixed and heavily dependent on the type of migrant coming to the UK. Migrants may increase productivity either through a simple ‘batting average’ effect if they work in higher productivity roles relative to the average for non-migrants, or through increasing the productivity of UK workers through greater specialisation and knowledge transfer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31008, how many officials of his Department worked full-time on strategies to tackle homelessness in each of the last five years.

Mr Marcus Jones

Over the years, this Department always ensured that policy areas, including homelessness, were suitably resourced in order to provide the best possible response to deal with changing priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost of hotel bookings for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants of his Department was during the negotiation processes for local authority devolution deals in each of the last three years.

Mr Mark Francois

Ministers, special advisers and civil servants in this department undertake a variety of visits to support the delivery of Government’s devolution and local growth objectives. We do not hold figures for the costs incurred for visits specifically supporting the negotiation of devolution deals in the format requested and this can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of parents with children who claimed tax credits in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds

Information about the number of parents with children who claimed tax credits in each of the last five years can be found in the publication ‘Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics, UK KAI Benefits & Credits December 2015’. Please see Table1.1. These statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485170/cwtc-main-Dec15.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of consultation processes on the conversion of all schools to academies in the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

Pre-opening support grants are available to schools when they convert. These grants contribute towards the costs of establishing the academy, including legal fees, costs associated with transfer of land, transfer of software licences, the consultation process, Human Resource and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations advice and setting up the Academy Trust.

The precise costs will depend on how schools individually and collectively come forward with academy proposals. There will, however, be a range of help available to support schools to become academies and secure the associated benefits.