The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times he has visited Scotland in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election; and what meetings were held on each such visit.
Michael Fallon
I have visited Scotland six times in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on delivering 750 more charging points in UK towns and cities by 2020 through the Go Ultra Low City scheme.
Mr John Hayes
As well as delivering over 750 chargepoints, the Go Ultra Low City Scheme will establish exemplar cities, see local authorities use local powers to encourage uptake, and test new technological solutions. Since the winners were announced in January 2016, the Government has agreed robust delivery plans with all winning cities to deliver the agreed outputs by 2020. Oxford City Council, Milton Keynes, the North East Combined Authority and Nottingham City Council have already begun the process of public chargepoint procurements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the introduction of the national living wage on the UK’s international competitiveness.
Mr David Gauke
The introduction of the National Living Wage marked an important step towards building an economy that works for everyone. It ensures that low-wage workers are fairly rewarded for their contribution to a growing economy. At £7.20, it is a 50p increase on the National Minimum Wage and means a pay rise for over a million workers aged 25 and over across the UK.
The impact assessment for the National Living Wage is available at legislation.gov.uk. It covers the direct costs and benefits to businesses and employees, along with the indirect effects of the policy, including the macroeconomic and fiscal impacts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many student visas her Department issued to Syrian nationals in each year since 2010.
James Brokenshire
The information requested is provided in the table below:
Entry clearance student visas granted to Syrian nationals (Main Applicants, Tier 4 & pre-PBS equivalent)
Year Granted
2010 395
2011 390
2012 204
2013 176
2014 169
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS England Trusts provide prostate surgery; how many of those track their incontinence rates after prostate surgery; of those hospitals that track outcomes, what is the average rate of post-surgical incontinence; what assessment they have made of whether survey-based research could be used to estimate the incontinence rate of those hospitals that do not track their outcomes; and if so, what is their estimate of the incontinence rate in those hospitals.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Prostate Cancer Audit 2014 found that 61 National Health Service trusts in England currently carry out radical prostatectomy, although others may carry out other surgical procedures. Estimates are not collected centrally of the number of patients who experience post-surgical incontinence.
According to Quality of Life of Cancer Survivors in England: Report on a pilot survey using Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS), published by the Department and the NHS in 2012, 44% of prostate cancer patients reported some urinary leakage and this was associated with lower quality of life scores. A copy of the report is attached.
Prostate Cancer UK and the Movember Foundation are currently funding a PROMS programme, Life After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, to assess for the first time the long-term quality of life of prostate cancer survivors, including the proportion who suffer from incontinence and other treatment related consequences.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait has been for the first universal credit payment following receipt of a successful application since the introduction of that credit.
Priti Patel
The information you have requested is not currently available.
During 2016 we will be increasing the range of statistics on Universal Credit which will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans HM Revenue and Customs has to take into account the effect of downtime of the HSBC online banking system during January 2015 when issuing penalties for late self-assessment tax returns.
Mr David Gauke
The downtime of online HSBC had no impact on customer’s ability to successfully file their tax return
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his future policies of the Sharm el Sheikh air crash in October 2015; and what recent reports he has received on the reasons for that crash.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The formal accident investigation into the loss of the Metrojet flight over Sinai on 31 October 2015 has not formally reached any conclusions as to the cause of the crash. But the Russian authorities announced, in November 2015, their conclusion that the aircraft was brought down by an explosive device, and the Government have been proceeding on that basis.
The incident highlights the importance for airports, airlines and countries to increase vigilance and make sure that sound security measures are in place. The Government is working to ensure this happens, but does not discuss the details of security arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will investigate the fitness for purpose of the members’ payments division of the National Consumer Council pension scheme.
Nick Boles
The National Consumer Council participated in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), which is managed by the Cabinet Office. Administration of the PCSPS is contracted out to MyCSP Ltd. MyCSP’s performance in administering the PCSPS is monitored by the Supplier Management team within Civil Service Pensions in the Cabinet Office; the performance of MyCSP is also reported to the Civil Service Pensions Board on a regular basis, which is independent of the Cabinet Office team.
Contact details for MyCSP are available from the Civil Service Pensions website: www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/contact-us/.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received on the extent of the withdrawal of Russian forces from the conflict in Syria.
Penny Mordaunt
Russia withdrew some close air support aircraft and associated engineering capacity earlier this year. However, around the time of their withdrawal, Russia increased its attack helicopter fleet and, therefore, our assessment is that the net effect on Russian deployed capability in Syria has been low.