The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their new prosperity fund will give priority to countries with large refugee and migrant populations, lack of own resources, or tourism reduced by wars, such as Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia.
Baroness Verma
The Government has not yet approved any country allocations from the Prosperity Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the Postgraduate Loans Scheme in 2016–17 and 2017–18.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Student Loans Company has produced a suite of information and guidance materials for institutions and prospective students and this is available from SLC’s website, The Student Room and Gov.UK. Additionally, BIS and the SLC are working together with a number of organisations, including Universities UK, to ensure that information and guidance is also disseminated through their own channels. Plans for 2017-18 will be drawn up later this year once the loan has been launched
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Holloway on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the capabilities, troop numbers and mission objectives of the Libya international assistance mission.
Penny Mordaunt
Italy is leading the planning for a Libya International Assistance Mission which is intended to provide training to Libyan security forces in response to a formal request made by the Libyan Government of National Accord. The mission is not designed to provide security for the Libyan Government.
The capabilities, troop numbers and objectives for any potential deployment are not yet sufficiently developed and will be further refined once a request for support has been received and the requirement becomes clear. No decisions have been made about the contribution of any British military forces to this mission.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential effect on Wales of plans to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.
Guto Bebb
Wales Office Ministers have regular discussions with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice on a range of issues including our plans to reform the UK Human Rights framework.
Revising the Human Rights Act can only be done by the UK Parliament and we will consult fully before bringing forward proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with airline operators in response to incidents between unmanned drones and passenger airlines.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and airlines), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date. Further work is underway to better understand the risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes to ensure that regulations remain fit for purpose.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of talking buses in the UK.
Andrew Jones
Clear, accessible information can be very useful to a range of passengers when travelling by bus. Tourists, people new to a given route and those who are disabled may all feel more confident in the knowledge that they will know when to alight when the time comes.
The Bus Services Bill will specifically allow enhanced partnership schemes to require all buses within a local area to provide such information. Authorities using the new franchising powers will be able to place similar requirements on affected operators. The Government has also agreed to consider amendments on this issue which were tabled during the Bill’s committee stage in the House of Lords.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for the 25 year plan on biodiversity; and what estimate she has made of the costs of implementing that plan.
Rory Stewart
Defra is working closely with Treasury and others on the development of the 25 year Environment Plan. A high level framework for the Plan will be published early next year and the detailed content of the plan will be developed over the course of 2016, including an estimate of implementation costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.16 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, where the ground-based Ballistic Missile Defence radar will be based; and when that radar will enter operation.
Mr Philip Dunne
We have not yet made decisions as to the exact capabilities required of the radar or where it will be sited – this will be determined in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total value of redundancy payments made to former employees of the Tenant Services Authority as a result of the decision to abolish that organisation.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (known as The Tenant Services Authority) ceased to exist from 31 March 2012. All staff were transferred under TUPE regulations to the Homes and Communities Agency from 1 April 2012, with the exception of the Managing Director. It was agreed that the post of Managing Director would not transfer and that the post should be deleted from the establishment from that date. A redundancy payment of £47,675 was made, together with enhanced pension contributions of £148,568.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK political parties will be invited to attend and participate in the Anti-Corruption Summit planned in London following the Prime Minister’s speech in Singapore on 28 July 2015.
Lord Bridges of Headley
Invitations will be sent out in due course.