Tag: Parliamentary Question

Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23331, what the average cost for each participant of the National Citizen Service has been in each year of its operation.

Mr Rob Wilson

National Citizen Service (NCS) delivers value for money and the most recent independent evaluation demonstrated that for every £1 spent on NCS it generates up £3.98 of social benefits. The table below shows the average cost per NCS participant calculated as part of the published independent evaluation for each year of operation:

Year	Average cost per participant
2011	£1,553
2012	£1,700
2013	£1,570
2014	£1,538
2015	Figures will be made available in the NCS 2015 evaluation report, which will be published in due course.

01/01/2023

Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 3 March 2016, HCWS576, on Successor Submarine Assessment Phase, whether the sum of £642 million expenditure announced represents new expenditure over and above that originally budgeted for the Assessment Phase; whether that sum includes any money which has been the subject of earlier press announcements by his Department; and which projects of what value that sum has been allocated to fund.

Mr Philip Dunne

As announced in my Written Statement of 3 March 2016, HCWS576, the funding will supplement the Successor submarine programme Assessment Phase, taking that investment to £3.9 billion. The additional investment covers activity for Nuclear Propulsion systems, Facilities and Infrastructure, the Common Missile Compartment and submarine Design, including Design Assurance. All of the projects have previously been announced. I am withholding cost estimates as to release them would prejudice commercial interests.

01/01/2023
Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the National Curriculum when all schools become academies.

Nick Gibb

In 2014 the Government introduced a new, more rigorous national curriculum which was developed with regard to the views of subject experts and teachers and to the findings of international best practice comparisons.

A system where every school is an academy will mean that the national curriculum will be a benchmark. It will serve an important role in setting out the level of knowledge-based, academically rigorous education which every child should experience.

If academies or Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) want to deliver the national curriculum in their schools, they can do so confidently. The Government wants academies to use their freedoms to innovate and build challenging, tailored curricula to meet the particular needs of their pupils, their local area or the particular ethos of the school.

01/01/2023
Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to make public transport more accessible for people with guide dogs.

Andrew Jones

The Department is committed to building transport networks which work for everyone, including ensuring that disabled people have the same opportunities to travel as other members of society.

From the 1^st January this year all single deck buses designed to carry over twenty two passengers on local and scheduled routes have had to comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR), which require vehicles to include contrasting handrails, priority seating and other features of benefit to visually impaired people. At least one priority seat on each bus must have sufficient space to accommodate an assistance dog with its owner. Double deck buses must comply with PSVAR by the 1^st January 2017.

Positive interactions with staff can also give visually impaired people the confidence to use bus services. We are working with Mott MacDonald to review disability awareness training from across the transport sector, and to produce best practice guidance by the end of 2016, to help equip bus drivers with the skills and knowledge they need to provide disabled passengers with a first class service.

01/01/2023
Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-07-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution on 4 July 2016, Official Report, column 626, on what date he (a) decided not to introduce an emergency budget and (b) asked the OBR to assess the effect of the EU referendum result on the economy.

Harriett Baldwin

As the Chancellor has said, the referendum result will have an impact on the economy and public finances – and there will need to be action to address that. Given the delay in triggering Article 50 and the Prime Minister’s decision to hand over to a successor, it is sensible that decisions on what that action should consist of should wait until the Office of Budget Responsibility has made an economic forecast in the Autumn.

The Chancellor will commission the OBR to provide an Autumn forecast in the usual way.

01/01/2023
Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial or other assistance they are making available to the Palestinian territories currently governed by the State of Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

DFID provided £72 million in financial year 2015/16 in support of Palestinian development to help build Palestinian institutions, deliver basic services and promote economic development.

As the Secretary of State has recently taken up her new role, she is conducting a full examination of our work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) to ensure UK taxpayers’ money is spent in the right places and in the right way.

01/01/2023
Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-11-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to HM Revenue and Customs of administering and enforcing self-employed registration for students in full-time education earning less than the Personal Allowance.

Mr David Gauke

The information is not available. HM Revenue and Customs does not routinely record whether a student is in full time education.

01/01/2023
Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether diabetes is defined as a disability, and if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on diabetics in the UK.

Lord Freud

Under the Equality Act 2010 a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Diabetes is a long term health condition and how disabling it is for people will vary depending on, amongst other things, severity and how well it is managed. The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

01/01/2023
Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance his Department has issued on the standard, quality and nutritional content of food served to UK armed forces.

Mr Philip Dunne

All food procured for Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel must comply with MOD food quality standards. These standards comply with all UK and EU production standards, Farm Assurance or equivalent. The Defence Food Quality Standards (DFQS) establishes the minimum quality criteria that the Department requires a supplier to deliver. It sets the standard of what food and ingredients should be provided as part of the contracts to provide nutritious and balanced meals to Service Personnel. The DFQS publication is available online through the gov.uk website at:

(www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479299/20151006-DFQS-V12-U.pdf).

The MOD requires all of its food suppliers to comply with both EU and National legislation whilst operating to industry standards and monitors the suppliers’ compliance with the DFQS through a combination of product testing and conducting inspections of their premises/production facilities.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to merge local authorities with a low council tax base with neighbouring higher base councils to ensure financial sustainability and service provision.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government has no plans to make local authorities merge with one another. However, the Government has been clear that it will listen to proposals made by local authorities for reform that lead to more effective governance arrangements.

We are making huge strides towards rebalancing the economy and empowering local government through the devolution of powers away from Whitehall. The strength of the devolution agenda is in its localist nature: local leaders know best what their area needs and we are committed to giving them the tools to drive growth.

The Government will undertake a review to devise a new formula to assess councils’ needs and provide fair funding for every type of local authority, ahead of the introduction of 100% business rates retention by the end of this Parliament.

01/01/2023