The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has accrued to the public purse from the taxation of coal in each of the last five years.
Damian Hinds
It is not possible to disaggregate tax receipts by commodity therefore, a figure for the revenue accrued by the Exchequer from taxes levied on coal cannot be provided.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to protect intellectual property rights and research being conducted at Manchester University’s National Graphene Institute.
Joseph Johnson
The UK has one of the most innovative economies and the best IP environment in the world. The Intellectual Property Office offers guidance to all Universities on how to manage and protect their IP assets. In addition, the Government provides a framework and guidance on information security for organisations including universities. Universities are independent and autonomous institutions and it is a matter for individual institutions to determine how they apply guidance.
Government wants to increase university income from collaboration and commercialisation to £5bn by 2025. The University of Manchester is one of the world’s most successful universities in this respect, working with over 40 partners at the forefront of the graphene revolution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 29629, if the Government will make it its policy to introduce targeted sanctions against individual members of the Maldivian government if the recommendations of the Commonwealth Action Group are not implemented in the next 12 months.
Mr Hugo Swire
Following its meeting on 20 April, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) set a revised deadline of September for clear and measurable progress to be delivered in the six areas of concern, identified at their previous meeting in February. It will be for CMAG to assess what progress has been made by September and to decide what collective action may be required. If CMAG assesses sufficient steps have not been taken, the UK will carefully consider appropriate bilateral action to help support reform efforts in the Maldives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is making to help prevent the displacement of Bedouin people in southern Israel; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We have been encouraging the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to find a satisfactory solution to this issue, respecting the equality of all of Israel’s citizens.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-07-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address delays in the production of education, health and care plans in cases where (1) plans are produced by a local authority outside the timescale specified in regulations, and (2) plans are not produced for the start of a new school or academic year where a young person is transferring to a new stage of education at the age of (a) 16, and (b) 18.
Lord Nash
Local authorities are responsible for fulfilling the statutory duties on special educational needs (SEN) and disability placed upon them by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. This legal framework sets out clearly the process and timescales for producing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; and the process for determining the school placement of children and young people with EHC plans.
Local authorities must issue final EHC plans within 20 weeks of commencing an assessment. Data published in May showed that 59.2% of EHC plans were issued on-time, excluding exception cases. Some areas are managing 100%. We have emphasised to local authorities that, where there are delays, they need to communicate clearly about them with families.
The SEND Code of Practice is clear that EHC plans must be issued in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution. The Children and Familes Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2014, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2015, require local authorities to prioritise the review of statements of SEN or Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs) for children and young people approaching the end of an educational phase.
Young people aged 19-25 are only able to draw on high needs funding from the Education Funding Agency where they have an EHC plan. Because some local authorities may not complete all the necessary transfers from LDAs to EHC plans by 1 September, EFA-funded institutions can continue to deliver programmes to 19-25 year olds where the young person has a Learning Difficulty Assessment and is receiving high needs funding, and where the local authority is in the process of an EHC assessment but has not finalised the EHC plan.
The Department does not set targets for the performance of individual local authorities. The Department monitors very closely nationally-published data on local authority performance on SEN and disability and provides support and challenge as appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost of the NHS Citizen scheme has been to date; and what assessment he has made of its success since its creation.
Mr Philip Dunne
A total of £4.2 million has been spent on the NHS Citizen programme in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and the programme has a budget of £1.3 million for 2016/17.
The Department’s annual assessment of NHS England in 2015-16 states that NHS England has made good progress against its duties to involve patients and the public. In the Department’s previous assessment, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State praised the positive work of the NHS Citizen programme and how it is building on its strong brand by expanding activity to ensure that Citizen Voice is locked into NHS England priority delivery areas and in the development of Sustainability and Transformation Plans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they took to ensure that women’s voices were included at the recent meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL in London.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
On 28-29 October, the UK hosted the fourth meeting of the Global Coalition’s Communications Working Group, along with our Coalition Co-Chairs, the United Arab Emirates and the US. Ministers and senior officials from 32 Coalition countries participated. 149 delegates were involved in the meeting over the two days, of whom 43 were women.
The meeting focused on digital communications and what more coalition governments could do, in partnership with civil society and digital industry, to promote positive voices and to ensure those promoting extremism and violent extremism online were not left unchallenged.
The meeting agreed that highlighting women’s voices was a key part of the Coalition’s response to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s propaganda.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) her Department, (b) the Disclosure and Barring Service, (c) the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, (d) the Independent Police Complaints Commission, (e) the National Crime Agency, (f) the Security Industry Authority, (g) UK Visas and Immigration and (h) HM Inspectorate of Constabulary; how many of those employees earn more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mike Penning
The attached table shows the number of staff employed by the press office at 30 November 2015. It also shows the number of staff that cost the department over £50,000 and £100,000 and the total cost of the press office for 2014/15. The Home Office press office covers a wide remit including police, crime, counter-terrorism, extremism, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, Her Majesty’s Passport Office, serious and organised crime as well as – from those agencies listed in the question – (f) the Security Industry Authority, and (g) UK Visas and Immigration. The department does not employ public relations staff. These costs to the department do not represent salaries earned. The press office operates 24 hours a day 365 days a year and the figures include weekend and on-call allowances, overtime as well as pension and national insurance costs. Across Government the government communications profession saved £330 million for taxpayers last year compared to 2009 to 2010 – by making its campaigns more cost effective.
This means that we reduced communications spending by a total of £1 billion during the last Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have claimed the marriage allowance introduced in April 2015 to date; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that eligible people apply for that allowance.
Mr David Gauke
As of 28 January 2016, 332,301 couples have successfully claimed Marriage Allowance. All eligible couples can apply on the GOV.UK website, or by phoning HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
HMRC has extensively marketed Marriage Allowance, including through digital and press advertising, and social and free media. HMRC plans further activities over the coming months to raise awareness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the formal consultation process will be for the review of the Homes and Communities Agency.
Brandon Lewis
The Spending Review underlined the priority this Government attaches to our ambition to build a million homes this Parliament and to double the number of new homeowners. Building on the successful contribution the Homes and Communities Agency made in the last Parliament, the Review will ensure that they are well-placed to deliver the Government’s objectives.
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Review will consider a range of options in looking at how the Agency can operate in the most effective and efficient way.
We will be seeking evidence from a wide range of sources, including the Agency itself, and will provide an opportunity for interested stakeholders to contribute views. Once this evidence has been collected and conclusions drawn, the Review will report as soon as possible.