The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will bring forward draft regulations under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Officials are continuing their work on implementing the Housing & Planning Act 2016. A number of regulations have been implemented and this process will be on-going throughout 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising in real terms in each year since 2010-11.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department’s spend on temporary agency staff, consultancy and administration for the financial years from 2010/11 to 2014/15 is published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and is included in the tables below.
(a) Temporary Agency Staff
|
Temporary Agency Staff (£m) |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
Department for Transport (central) |
6.87 |
4.10 |
6.85 |
12.80 |
15.77 |
|
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency |
3.70 |
1.00 |
3.13 |
1.22 |
0.98 |
|
Driving Standards Agency |
0.34 |
0.00 |
0.01 |
0.13 |
0.80 |
|
Highways Agency |
3.76 |
2.45 |
1.01 |
5.83 |
9.82 |
|
Maritime and Coastguard Agency |
0.48 |
0.17 |
0.14 |
0.57 |
1.07 |
|
Vehicle Certification Agency |
0.15 |
0.12 |
0.17 |
0.36 |
0.14 |
|
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency |
1.00 |
1.59 |
2.28 |
3.02 |
5.39 |
|
Department Total |
16.30 |
9.43 |
13.59 |
23.93 |
33.97 |
(b) Consultancy
|
Consultancy (£m) |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
Department for Transport (central) |
5.54 |
5.57 |
10.30 |
8.12 |
19.25 |
|
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency |
0.76 |
0.48 |
0.56 |
0.70 |
0.12 |
|
Driving Standards Agency |
0.10 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.04 |
0.31 |
|
Highways Agency |
3.87 |
0.30 |
0.19 |
0.27 |
0.00 |
|
Maritime and Coastguard Agency |
0.13 |
0.05 |
0.10 |
0.13 |
0.00 |
|
Vehicle Certification Agency |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.05 |
0.00 |
|
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency |
0.39 |
0.01 |
0.07 |
0.97 |
0.09 |
|
Department Total |
10.79 |
6.41 |
11.22 |
10.28 |
19.77 |
The figures for temporary staff and consultancy have been produced based on Cabinet Office definitions for these categories of expenditure. Consultancy is defined as work of an advisory nature designed to inform policy or to assist with strategic decisions and complex legal issues. Temporary Staff category includes expenditure where it is clear that specific individuals are being engaged to work on projects and ‘business as usual’ functions.
Please see (d) Administration for further information
(c) Non-payroll Staff
Most non-payroll expenditure is included as either Temporary Staff or Consultancy answered in parts (a) and (b) above, with the exception of:-
|
Non-Payroll Staff (£M) |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) |
1.68 |
1.76 |
2.05 |
2.18 |
3.04 |
VCA figures include overseas contractors and locally employed staff. There was a large increase 2013/14 to 2014/15 as they took over a Turkish contract.
(d) Administration
Administration costs reflect the costs of running the Department, including staff, accommodation, IT costs, and operating lease rentals. The administration budget figures below are substantially lower than the 2009-10 figure of £297m.
|
Department for Transport Spend Category (£m) |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
Total Administration Budget |
276.26 |
216.74 |
242.93 |
240.08 |
271.38 |
To ensure that the Department was resourced to deliver its agenda, particularly around letting and managing rail franchise contracts following the Laidlaw and Brown reviews, HM Treasury agreed to switch £25m from DfT’s Programme to Administration budgets, increasing the Department’s 2014-15 Administration budget to £275m, plus £13m for depreciation.
The increases in (a) temporary staff and (b) consultancy spend was covered in this switch.
Notes:
1. Government Car & Despatch Agency disbanded during 2012/13 following which the work has been undertaken within the Department. The Administration therefore falls under Central Administration section from
2013/14 onwards.
2. General Lighthouse Authorities consolidated into the Department’s accounts for 2013/14 and beyond.
(e) Marketing and Advertising
Spend on marketing, including marketing related advertising, by the Department and its Executive Agencies for the financial years 2012/13 to 2014/15 is set out in the table below.
Marketing spend in 2014/15 is 83% less than the £48.4 million recorded for 2009/10.
|
Marketing related expenditure (£m) |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
Department for Transport (central) |
3.47 |
4.79 |
5.96 |
|
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency |
0.56 |
Nil |
Nil |
|
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency1 |
– |
– |
0.23 |
|
Driving Standards Agency1 |
0.04 |
0.03 |
– |
|
Government Car and Despatch Agency2 |
Nil |
– |
– |
|
Highways Agency |
0.46 |
0.43 |
1.91 |
|
Maritime and Coastguard Agency |
0.18 |
0.16 |
0.21 |
|
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency1 |
0.06 |
0.06 |
– |
|
Vehicle Certification Agency |
0.04 |
N/A |
0.05 |
|
Department Total |
4.80 |
5.47 |
8.36 |
Notes:
1. The Driving Standards Agency and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency became the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in April 2014.
2. The Government Car and Despatch Agency ceased on 30 September 2012.
Most of the additional spend in 2014/15 compared to the previous year is attributable to the THINK! Drug Drive campaign in March 2015 supporting the implementation of new enforcement regulations and the Highways Agency public information campaign on the implementation of new traffic management and payment methods at the Dartford Crossing.
Figures for 2010/11 and 2011/12 were not prepared and could be compiled now only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department spent on educational materials for prisons in 2014-15.
Nick Boles
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills funds the Skills Funding Agency to administer and deliver education in the majority of adult prisons in England via the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS).
The OLASS budget for 2014-15 was £145.6m. This figure includes funding for the National Careers Service in custody. It excludes a number of private prisons where the operator is responsible for providing education under their contract with the National Offender Management Service.
The OLASS budget includes funding to cover the provision of educational materials. The costs of those materials are not collected separately.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Dutch government ahead of the publication of the Programme of the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Mr David Lidington
Reflecting the strength of the UK-Netherlands relationships, my Ministerial colleagues and I hold regular meetings with our Dutch counterparts to discuss a range of issues, including their current Presidency of the Council of the EU.
I discussed their Presidency programme with Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plassechaert during my visit to The Hague in November 2015, alongside a number of shared EU priorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans that all eligible individuals will have been invited to participate in the NHS Bowel Scope Screening Programme.
Jane Ellison
Bowel Scope Screening is currently offered in 48 out of 63 screening units with 25% of all general practitioner practices in England engaging with bowel scope.
All screening centres are expected to go live in 2016 and it is hoped that full roll out of bowel scope screening will be achieved by 2019.
The annual population eligible for screening (55 year olds) is approximately 780,000 across all screening centres. This data come from the counts of people turning 55 each year.
Data on screening centres offering bowel scope screening is currently unavailable due to deductive disclosure; however the programme is looking to publish the data as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) gives the same priority for collection to arrears owed to parent with care who transfers from the Child Support Agency to the CMS by a paying parent as new arrears which accumulate under the 2012 scheme.
Priti Patel
The Child Maintenance Service is committed to ensuring parents fulfil their obligation to make financial provision for their children. The approach to the collection of arrears was set out in the DWP Child Maintenance Arrears and Compliance Strategy, Preparing for the future, tackling the past published on 31 January 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs were working in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) Enfield and (c) London (i) in total and (ii) per head of population in each year since 2010.
Alistair Burt
The attached table shows the total general practitioner (GP) headcount and headcount per head of population in Enfield and London between 2010-14.
Information on the availability of GP appointments in Enfield North is not collected centrally.
We have invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and over 18 million patients have benefited from improved access and transformational change at a local level. A wide variety of approaches are being tested through the Access Fund, including: evening and weekend appointments and better use of telecare and health apps; more innovative ways to access services by video call, email or telephone; and developing more integrated services with a single point of contact to co-ordinate patient services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-04-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have not prosecuted the reported 350 Jihadis who have returned to the UK and are suspected of having fought in Syria or Iraq.
Lord Keen of Elie
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has successfully prosecuted 35 cases involving 54 defendants who have returned to the UK and are suspected of having fought in Syria and / or Iraq. It currently has 13 such ongoing prosecutions involving 30 defendants. The Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland (PPSNI) is also dealing with one ongoing Syria-related prosecution. If there is evidence that people are going abroad to engage in terrorist activity, they can be arrested and prosecuted. They can also be arrested and prosecuted if they return to the UK. There are a wide range of offences that can be used to prosecute such individuals but each case has to be considered individually on its merits and whether an arrest or prosecution can take place will depend on the evidence available. If the police refer a case to the CPS, they consider whether the test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors is met. That is, whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence and, if so, whether it is in the public interest to prosecute.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will place in the library an unredacted copy of Lady Macur’s review of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the abuse of children in North Wales.
Alun Cairns
No. Lady Justice Macur specifically cautioned Ministers against publishing certain groups of names, for example to protect against prejudicing pending and ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions.
An unredacted version of the report has been provided to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by Justice Lowell Goddard, and was seen by representatives from Operations Pallial, Hydrant and Orarian.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of maximum workplace temperature regulations in protecting workers’ health and well-being.
Penny Mordaunt
A review of maximum workplace temperatures took place in 2010 and concluded that the legislation and supporting guidance is sufficient.
The existing law on workplace temperature, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, places a legal obligation on employers to provide a ‘reasonable’ temperature in the workplace. A meaningful figure is not set out in regulations due to the factors, other than air temperature, which determine thermal comfort (for example, the radiant temperature, humidity and air velocity). These factors become more significant and the interplay between them more complex as the temperature rises.
Detailed guidance on workplace temperature and thermal comfort is available on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website (http://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/). This includes how to undertake a thermal comfort assessment and measures that can be taken to improve thermal comfort.
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