Tag: Melanie Onn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of services provided by housing associations to tenants since 2013.

Brandon Lewis

As independent providers of social housing, it is for housing associations to decide on the level of services they wish to provide to their tenants.

Housing associations are regulated by the Social Housing Regulator against its standards framework; where there are issues of non-compliance with the regulatory standards the Regulator has powers to intervene.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to her oral contribution of 2 March 2016 to the Ninth Delegated Legislation Committee on the draft Renewables Obligation Closure Etc. (Amendment) Order 2016, what the evidential basis is for the statement that, with reference to the solar industry, it is not true to say that there are thousands of job losses and that there will be thousands more.

Andrea Leadsom

We see a strong future for solar PV in the UK.

In order to support the path to subsidy-free solar deployment, we have decided to keep the Feed-in-Tariff scheme open, and expect that the scheme could support 15,000-23,000 jobs in the sector. There will continue to be jobs in the operation and maintenance of existing solar installations.

We also expect subsidy-free solar to be an increasingly attractive option. Lightsource, the biggest solar developer in the UK, have said publically that they will be installing and connecting subsidy-free sites in 2016.

Support for solar comes directly from people’s bills, so when costs come down, so should support. Therefore we have taken steps to control the costs of support schemes and put solar on a path to delivering without subsidy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people who require adapted housing in England in 2016-17.

Brandon Lewis

The Government recognises the critical importance housing adaptations have in sustaining wellbeing and helping older and disabled people to live independently. Since 2010 we have invested over £1 billion in the Disabled Facilities Grant, providing around 250,000 adaptations to older and disabled people’s homes in England. We secured a year on year increase for the Disabled Facilities Grant over the Spending Review, meaning that the grant will increase 79% in 2016-17 to £394 million, rising to over £500 million by 2020.

We also acknowledged the vital part adaptations play in the integration of housing, health and social care by incorporating Disabled Facilities Grant into the Better Care Fund in 2015.

Most recent data on the number of homes needing adaptations will be available in the 2014-15 English Housing Survey, due for publication in July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the economic cost of the shortage of Certificate of Professional Competence qualified drivers.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has not made an estimate on the economic effect of a potential driver shortage. It is aware of extensive reports about pressures on wages, the recruitment of drivers from outside the UK and delayed deliveries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many disabled housing association residents moved out of their property in each year since 2009-10.

Brandon Lewis

The number of disabled social housing tenants (including housing association tenants) who have moved out of their property in each year since 2005-6 is shown in the attached table.

These figures show that the number of social tenants who have moved has fluctuated over time, but the proportion of social renters who have moved has remained relatively constant.

The reasons for these moves are not known although we expect some disabled social tenants will have moved to better (e.g. adapted) accommodation. Some will have moved from a different tenure i.e.from owner occupation or the private rented sector), while others will have moved from another social housing property.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will estimate the change in the number of jobs that will be lost in the solar industry as a result of the early closure of the renewables obligation.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not maintain data on the number of jobs in the solar industry. In order to support the path to subsidy-free solar deployment, we have decided to keep the Feed-in-Tariff scheme open, and expect that the scheme could support 15,000-23,000 jobs in the sector.

We expect subsidy-free solar to be an increasingly attractive option. Lightsource, the biggest solar developer in the UK, have said publically that they will be installing and connecting subsidy-free sites in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on regionalisation of the initial teacher training programme.

Nick Gibb

We are monitoring recruitment at a regional level in all subjects to ensure that the regional balance of initial teacher training (ITT) provision is maintained. We reserve the right to control recruitment in particular regions for all ITT routes and courses. It is important to maintain the regional balance of ITT provision and consequently we may use recruitment controls to prevent significant geographical variation in the distribution of provision compared to previous years. However, we will not operate with regional targets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of NHS patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis who have not had a gastroenterology appointment in the last six months and who have had an appointment cancelled or postponed by their NHS provider during the last six months.

Jane Ellison

The information is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions government departments have paid bills to private businesses more than 60 days after the date the invoice was received since 2010-11.

Matthew Hancock

This information is not held centrally.

Departments publish, on their pages on GOV.UK, quarterly reports on the percentage of undisputed invoices they pay within 5 and 30 days. From the start of the next financial year they will also report quarterly on their liability to pay interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the change in the number of jobs in the solar industry has been since May 2015.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not maintain data on the number of jobs in the solar industry. In order to support the path to subsidy-free solar deployment, we have decided to keep the Feed-in-Tariff scheme open, and expect that the scheme could support 15,000-23,000 jobs in the sector.

We expect subsidy-free solar to be an increasingly attractive option. Lightsource, the biggest solar developer in the UK, have said publically that they will be installing and connecting subsidy-free sites in 2016.