Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with representatives of the private parking industry on the implications of the Supreme Court case, Beavis vs ParkingEye.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is aware of the public concern at the way some private parking companies operate.

    Whilst we have not held any specific discussions with the DVLA or representatives of the private parking companies, we are currently reviewing responses to the discussion paper, “Parking Reform: Tackling Unfair Practices”.

    We will issue a response in due course.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take any action to ensure that local authorities comply with their legal duty to provide to homeless families temporary accommodation that is safe and suitable.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Housing Act 1996 requires that local housing authorities must ensure that all temporary accommodation they secure is suitable. Not to do so is unlawful. Households in temporary accommodation have the legal right to seek a review of any decision to place them in unsuitable accommodation. If households are unsatisfied with the response then they have redress to the courts.

    To help frontline decision makers make those decisions right first time DCLG fund the National Homelessness Advice Service to provide free expert advice, training and support to homelessness professionals. In December 2015 Government also provided a £5 million fund to help the 25 councils facing the most significant homelessness pressures to ensure people are moved from temporary accommodation and into suitable homes as soon as possible.

    Households leaving temporary accommodation now spend, on average, less time in temporary accommodation than they did in 2010. The numbers of households in temporary accommodation remain well below their peak, when they hit 101,000 in 2004.

  • Peter Bottomley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Bottomley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust of legal proceedings concerning Mr Agrawal.

    Mr Jeremy Hunt

    This is an employer and employee matter between the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Mr Aditya Agrawal respectively. The Department cannot comment on individual employment matters that are the responsibility of independent organisations, and that are subject to ongoing legal proceedings or on matters relating to individual clinical cases or other personal information. We understand that the cost to East Lancashire Trust of legal proceedings concerning Mr Agrawal is £296,848.42 to date, and that the Trust does not have insurance costs for legal awards in the event of the Trust or one of its employees being subject to legal action for defamation.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the recent statement of the Secretary of State for Defence on increasing the number of cadet units in state schools across the UK, what steps he plans to help ensure that those units provide opportunities for young people from ethnic minority and vulnerable backgrounds.

    Mark Lancaster

    Last year the Government committed £50 million of LIBOR funding to the Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP) to increase the number of cadet units in schools to 500 by 2020. This manifesto commitment will establish around 150 new units in state schools across the UK. The programme is targeting schools in less affluent areas to ensure that more young people can experience the life-enhancing activities that cadet service brings.

    The cadet forces are inclusive organisations which help young people achieve their full potential. We are committed to equality of opportunity for young people from all backgrounds, regarding diversity within our membership as one of our greatest strengths.

    As part of our plan to build a country that works for everyone we have made it a priority to focus the CEP on areas of high deprivation where the potential benefit is greatest. The new school units will help young people to get on in life, raising their aspirations and motivating them to succeed in their education.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by the Bank of England that up to 15 million jobs in Britain are at risk from increased mechanisation.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Bank of England has made an important contribution to the debate about how technological developments will shape work and the labour market.

    While assessments often focus on the jobs at risk from technological change, the wider effects of such changes can also be to create jobs. The UK economy has adapted well to previous changes related to automation and globalisation, with over 2.5 million people moving between jobs each year, and it is now experiencing record rates (73.7%) and levels (31.2 million) of employment.

    The Government is taking action to provide individuals with the skills that will help prepare them for changes to the labour market. Activities include the new school computing curriculum, developing new apprenticeship standards, growing the apprenticeships programme and recently announcing the Institute for Coding.​​

    Furthermore, the Government’s Horizon Scanning Programme Team is working with officials across departments to explore the implications for policy – including employment – of automation. This has included meeting the experts who created the methodology underlying the Bank of England’s analysis.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of green belt land in the Purbeck District Council area has been redesignated in the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by community land trusts.

    The Department’s annual Green Belt statistics monitor the amount of land designated as Green Belt in England and any changes to the designated area since the previous year. The statistics record the change by local planning authority.

    Of the local planning authorities for which information was requested, the following have made changes to the Green Belt in the last five years:

    East Dorset reduced the area of designated Green Belt in 2014-15 by 160 hectares to 16,720 hectares, a reduction of 1 per cent; and

    Purbeck increased the area of designated Green Belt in 2012-13 by 460 hectares to 8,200 hectares, an increase of 6 per cent.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what additional checks on standards and quality his Department and the National Apprenticeship Service plan to introduce in response to the targets listed in his Department’s publication, English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, published on 7 December 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Institute for Apprenticeships, a new independent body led by employers, is being established to oversee the quality of apprenticeships in England.

    The Institute for Apprenticeships will put in place transparent mechanisms for the approval of apprenticeship standards and assessment plans, and maintain clear quality criteria so that only standards that are valued by employers will be approved and funded.

    It will be fully operational by April 2017.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government has taken to relieve food insecurity in (a) Taiz and (b) elsewhere in Yemen.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has more than doubled its humanitarian commitment to Yemen over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. This includes funding to the World Food Programme (WFP) and International Non-Governmental Organisations who provide emergency food to over 570,000 people, either through direct delivery of food or providing cash or vouchers to enable people to buy food. These distributions are prioritised to the areas of greatest need including the hardest to reach districts of Taiz. Just last week, UK funding helped WFP to deliver a month’s supply of food to 21,000 people in Taiz. UK funding to UNICEF is also treating over 150,000 children for severe acute malnutrition and we are funding the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) to improve the supply of essential commercial goods, including food, into Yemen.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for local road maintenance in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Andrew Jones

    Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is part of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority which will receive £85.1 million in capital funding from the Department for Transport for local highways maintenance from 2015/16 to 2020/21. This funding is for all authorities within the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority except Birmingham which has an operational highway maintenance project funded through the Private Finance Initiative. The Department does not hold information on the highway maintenance funding Solihull receives from the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Natura 2000 sites have been identified as being within 10 miles of the proposed Phase 2 route of High Speed Two.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The following Natura 2000 sites within 10 miles of the proposed Phase 2 Route (Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)) have been identified:

    1 SPA site

    17 SAC sites

    SPA Name

    Peak District Moors

    SAC Name

    Birklands & Bilhaugh

    Cannock Chase

    Cannock Extension Canal

    Denby Grange Colliery Ponds

    Ensor’s Pool

    Kirk Deighton

    Manchester Mosses

    Mottey Meadows

    Oak Mere

    Pasturefields Salt Marsh

    Peak District Dales

    River Mease

    Rixton Clay Pits

    Rochdale Canal

    Skipwith Common

    South Pennine Moors

    West Midlands Mosses