The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-02-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people in Wealden constituency have a full driving licence.
Andrew Jones
On 30 January 2016, there were 188,244 full driving licence holders in the Wealden constituency postal code areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the (a) implications for his policies of the recent decision by the European Court of Justice on travel from home to work and (b) potential effect of that decision on the application of the Working Time Directive to care and support workers.
Ben Gummer
The Government is carefully considering the implications of the decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which was published on the 10 September 2015. The ruling passed into United Kingdom law on the date it was published.
Employers are responsible for ensuring that service rotas are designed and staffed appropriately and are in accordance with the Working Time Regulations and findings made by the CJEU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage data-sharing between highway authorities, mapping providers and satellite navigation companies to limit the use of inappropriate routes by HGVs.
Andrew Jones
The Government is putting the UK at the forefront of innovation in road transport. For example, we are establishing the UK as a global centre for excellence in connected and autonomous vehicles, creating a ‘Connected Corridor’ from London to Dover to enable vehicles to communicate wirelessly with infrastructure and potentially other vehicles, and planning trials of truck platooning on our motorways.
The Department has brought together satnav manufacturers, mapping companies, local authorities and other industry organisations in a Satnav Summit and in further discussions. We are working with these parties to improve the information satnavs provide to road users, and enable better co-operation and information-sharing between local highway authorities and the industry through joint working.
ITS UK, an industry body, have also worked with the freight and haulage industry to promote the use of appropriate satnav devices designed specifically for HGVs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the implementation of the National Living Wage on (a) the financial position of employers in the care sector and (b) the level of employment in that sector.
Alistair Burt
The Government has engaged with the care sector, including care providers, to understand the impact on the market arising from amongst other things, local authority commissioning behaviour and the introduction of the National Living Wage. This has included a number of deep dive sessions held with both care home businesses and providers of home care services.
As part of its spending plans for the next four years the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Local authorities will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. The Government estimates this could raise nearly £2 billion a year for adult social care by 2019/20.
Councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs for care providers such as the National Living Wage. To support this, the Social Care Precept puts money raising powers into the hands of local authorities which are best placed to target resources based on their understanding of their local care market.
In terms of the levels of employment in the sector, the Department believes that effective recruitment and retention of a caring and skilled adult social care workforce has a central role to play in delivering high quality care and support to people who need it.
Our challenge is to ensure the workforce has the right number of people to meet the demands of the future, with the right skills, knowledge and behaviours to deliver quality, compassionate care.
DH will continue to work in partnership with delivery partners and key stakeholders to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the adult social care workforce.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of households eligible for the property compensation scheme proposed by Gatwick Airport Limited under the current proposal for the expansion of Gatwick Airport.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The property compensation scheme proposed by Gatwick Airport Limited consists of two elements, compulsory purchase and a voluntary purchase scheme (‘Home Owner Support Scheme’). Approximately 168 properties will be eligible for compulsory purchase compensation. The number of properties eligible for voluntary purchase will be determined by the promoters published eligibility criteria in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to promote design and technology in state-funded schools.
Nick Gibb
Design and Technology (D&T) is compulsory in the national curriculum in England at key stages 1 to 3. By introducing a new, more rigorous D&T curriculum in 2014 and reforming the subject’s GCSE and A level qualifications, we have taken important steps to make D&T an exciting subject, paving the way for young people to progress into careers in a range of engineering and design fields.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what operational mitigation measures have been proposed by (a) Heathrow Airport Limited and (b) Gatwick Airport Limited to reduce the effect of aviation noise in the event of expansion of those airports.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Heathrow Airport Ltd. and Gatwick Airport Ltd. have published proposals on their respective websites to mitigate the impacts of aviation noise. The Government is continuing to engage with promoters for all three schemes shortlisted by the Airports Commission to develop the best possible packages of mitigation measures, including on noise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what she has allocated to the Strategic Communications Plan supporting the Psychoactive Substances Bill.
Karen Bradley
A strategic communications plan to make people aware of the intended ban on psychoactive substances has been developed by the Home Office, working closely with partners and agencies such as Public Health England. The comprehensive plan will explain the legislative changes and consequences to sellers, young people and other users and signpost support and advice.
A budget has not been allocated for this work. Value for money is being maximised through the use of existing resources, materials developed at no cost in-house and free to use channels, such as press, PR and social media to raise awareness of the ban.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the suitability of alternative travel options for passengers and employees travelling to and from Gatwick Airport in the event that the Brighton Mainline is out of service.
Claire Perry
No formal assessment has been carried out by the Department, however Network Rail and the rail operator are required to work together in the event of disruption on the Brighton Main Line to ensure that passenger needs are catered for. Alternative travel options are put in place for planned engineering works, and these worked well during the Christmas period last year when extensive engineering work took place. The rail industry is required to have contingency plans in place for disruptive events.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-01-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 21 to 64 and (b) 65 and over who pay income tax pay tax at the higher rate.
Mr David Gauke
The information is not held in the form requested.
Information on the number of taxpayers liable at the higher and additional rates of tax is set out in HM Revenue and Customs’ National Statistics table 2.1. This is available at the following internet address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/429111/Table_2.1.pdf
This data covers the number of taxpayers aged under 65 years old as well as those aged 65 and over.
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