The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost to the public purse was of repayments made following the Manual Process 217 computer errors in child maintenance collection.
Priti Patel
From February 2015 to November 2015 the Department has awarded 305 payments for financial loss under Manual Process 217, at a cost of £122,000.
Note: This figure has been rounded to the closest thousand pounds.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many badgers have been culled in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015 to date.
George Eustice
A total of 615 badgers were culled in 2014; 341 in Somerset, and 274 in Gloucestershire. These data were published in December 2014. A report on the outcome of the 2015 badger cull will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when a Minister in his Department (a) last visited, (b) met the Governor of and (c) met the Independent Monitoring Board of HM Prison Ranby.
Andrew Selous
Available records show that no current Ministers for the Ministry of Justice have visited HMP Ranby, nor met the Governor or met with their Independent Monitoring Board.
The East Midlands Deputy Director with responsibility for HMP Ranby regularly visits the prison and meets with the Governor. Andrew Selous receives annual reports from the chair of the IMB at Ranby.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) his Department and (b) the NHS has been asked by security and intelligence agencies for care.data data sets.
George Freeman
We do not comment on security matters. The Department and the National Health Service takes protection of data very seriously. It is the role of the Health and Social Care Information Centre, a public body based in Leeds, to ensure that high quality information is used appropriately to improve patient care. The organisation has legal powers to collect and analyse information from all providers of NHS care. It is committed, and legally bound to the very highest standards of privacy, security and confidentiality to ensure that patient confidential information is protected at all times. Access to information is strictly controlled.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for a decision on a naturalisation application in (a) the UK and (b) Leeds.
James Brokenshire
The average length of time taken to consider naturalisation applications in the UK is 135.12 days. In Leeds postal code area the average length of time is 167 days. Both of these figures relate to the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, which is the most recent period for which statistics on the number of applications considered have been published.
For straightforward applications where the customer has met all their obligations, the service standard is that 98.5% of cases will be processed within 6 months (183 calendar days).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 23 October 2007 (WA101), by Lord Triesman on 12 November 2007 (WA1–2), by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 8 June 2015 (HL44) and by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5648), how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has rigorously checked that what is stated in centres’ lay summaries on its website about the purposes and likelihood of success of the research is realistic for both donors and the public, as explicitly recommended under Key actions for HFEA” in the summary of the “Post Hwang Meeting” on 1 March 2006 that was published on the HFEA website; and how the currently stated aim of research licence R0152 “to improve outcomes of ART for the treatment of infertility” relates to any reasonably foreseeable applications of nuclear transfer that accord not only with the statutory tests but also with the originally stated purpose of the proposed research in the initial application for this particular licence.”
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that centres’ lay summaries are checked at inspection by the relevant HFEA inspector and by the HFEA Licence Committee. In the case of licence R0152, the lay summary was last approved on 15 July 2015 when the HFEA Licence Committee agreed to approve updates to the centre’s lay summary and the updates to the research objectives. The minutes note the committee was content that the revised objectives and lay summary were consistent with the activities and purposes for which the project was licensed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what procedures she will follow in consideration of applications for the disposal for development of the former Two Trees High School in Denton.
Edward Timpson
The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new academy or free school.
School playing fields are also protected by Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Schools and local authorities must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval before they can dispose of their land. Applications to dispose of school playing fields are first considered by the school playing fields advisory panel, who make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, before she then makes her final decision.
At this time I am not aware of an application by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to seek approval to dispose of the former Two Trees Sports College, including the playing fields.
Should an application be submitted, the Secretary of State would take into account any groups or organisations with permission to use the playing fields and what suitable alternative provision they may have been offered. Local schools, which are deficient in playing field land, should also be offered the opportunity to use the playing field before any application is presented. She will also take into account local school place needs and any academy requirement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to mitigate the environmental and congestion concerns of residents arising from the building of new houses in Whalley.
Brandon Lewis
Local authorities and their communities are best placed to decide, through their Local and Neighbourhood Plans, which land is most suitable for development and what infrastructure is needed to support it. The National Planning Policy Framework, which must be taken into account in plan-making and is a material consideration in individual planning decisions, makes it clear that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. It:
states that Green Belt should be given the highest protection and its boundaries only adjusted in exceptional circumstances through the Local Plan process;
requires local authorities to support a pattern of development that, where reasonable to do so, facilitates the use of public transport, walking and cycling, and focus significant development in locations which are or can be made sustainable
enables local communities to identify for special protection green or open areas of particular importance to them as Local Green Space;
Individual decisions are made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much his Department has spent on overnight accommodation since it was created.
Greg Hands
Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF), Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.
As DIT is currently being formed, accurate data for overnight accommodation spend is unavailable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the officers employed at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre are male.
James Brokenshire
Management information shows that the proportion of male officers employed at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre as of 17 November 2015 is 51%.
Deployment of staff to the accommodation units is reviewed on a daily basis by Serco, with the aim of two-thirds of staff on female units being female officers.