The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.
Jane Ellison
Data for 2015-16 will not be available until this year’s Annual Report and Accounts has been published.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps his Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.
Damian Hinds
The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions and a wide range of other interested parties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the remit is of the Gulf Strategy Unit; when the Unit was established; how many staff the Unit is intended to employ; and what the proposed budget for the Unit is.
Ben Gummer
The Gulf Strategy Integrated Delivery Team was established in 2015.
Its remit is to coordinate the Government’s strategic approach to UK engagement with the Gulf States as set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
It employs three full-time and one part-time Government employees. One is military and three are civilian.
Administration costs were £70,004 in the 2015-16 financial year and the budget for administration costs in the 2016-17 financial year is £423,000. The 2015-16 figure reflects the fact the unit was established later in the financial year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received on the use of plastic bank notes; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
The Bank of England is the issuing authority for banknotes. Following research and a public consultation in 2013, the Bank decided that new polymer £5 and £10 banknotes would come into circulation at the end of 2016 and 2017 respectively. In September 2015, the Bank announced that the next £20 note will also be printed on polymer after considering further developments in banknote technology.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of China about not returning to North Korea nine refugees transferred to China from Vietnam; what assessment they have made of conclusions by Human Rights Watch that, should those refugees be repatriated, they will be at grave risk; and what assessment the British Ambassador in Pyongyang has made of the fate of other refugees returned to North Korea.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of the situation and are discussing the case with the relevant authorities. We raise the issue of non-refoulement with the Chinese government regularly, including at the last UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian authorities about reducing the practice of locating military bases in rural villages.
Mr Hugo Swire
The government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reached a number of agreements in September 2015, which I welcomed at the time. These agreements included one on rural development.
I also welcomed the commitment made by both sides to sign a final peace deal by the end of March 2016. We continue to offer advice to the government of Colombia on implementation of the Peace Process and the potential role of the military in the post conflict phase.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities have applied for funding from the permanent pothole fund since the announcement of that fund in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; and how many applications for such funding his Department expects to be approved in (a) 2015-16 and (b) the 2015-20 Parliament.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport is providing over £6.1 billion funding to local highway authorities in England between 2015 and 2021 for local highways maintenance. This includes repairing roads that might be damaged due to severe winter weather. This funding includes £50 million per annum from 2016 to 2021 for a dedicated Pothole Action Fund as announced in the recent Spending Review.
The Department for Transport is currently working up criteria on how the Pothole Action Fund will operate and an announcement will be made in due course on this. Therefore no applications have yet been submitted nor have any decisions been made on how this funding will be allocated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Prime Minister, which hon. Members have security clearance for access to 10 Downing Street.
Mr David Cameron
It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27079, on Victory 1744, how many such meetings, on which dates, have been held between his officials and those in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Mark Lancaster
Since my previous answer of the 22 February 2016 officials met on the 11 March and further meetings between officials from both Departments will be held as these discussions continue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage car manufacturers to adopt green and hybrid technologies.
Andrew Jones
The UK offers one of the most comprehensive packages of support for ultra low emission vehicles in the world. This includes the plug-in car and van grants, support for infrastructure, investment in R&D, and the ground breaking government-industry communications campaign, ‘Go Ultra Low’.
The government recently committed over £600m over the course of this parliament to support the take up and manufacture of ultra low emission vehicles, and has set itself the ambitious goal that by 2050 nearly all cars and vans should be zero emission.
We are also active in the EU in pushing for ambitious regulation of the CO2 emissions of new cars, which will encourage the increasing deployment of new greener technologies.