The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to merge clinical commissioning groups during the course of the current Parliament.
George Freeman
There are no plans to merge clinical commissioning groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord De Mauley on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of each of the issues raised in the response of the British Horse Society to their consultation on a draft cycling and walking investment strategy.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are now analysing the feedback received during the draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy eight week consultation period, which closed on Monday 23 May. We expect to publish the final Strategy this summer along with a Government response to the consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has undertaken research into the child welfare implications of possible amendments to the meaning of the term supply in the Video Recordings Act 1984 to include adults providing children with access to recordings categorised as containing age-inappropriate content.
Matt Hancock
Following public consultations involving representations from classification bodies, child welfare groups, local authorities, content producers and many others, since 2010 we have legislated twice to strengthen the protections provided by the Act. This has ensured that retailers now cannot sell or rent any age-inappropriate DVDs or video games discs or cartridges to children. It also ensures these products are all labelled with relevant British Board of Film Classification (DVDs) and PEGI (video games) age ratings and content advice. This means adults have better information to help them make responsible decisions about the material children can access.
We will continue to work with industry and the age ratings bodies to encourage further promotion of the BBFC and PEGI age ratings to consumers including through initiatives such as BBFCInsight and AskAboutGames.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of areas of the country with a relatively low level of social care provision; and what steps he plans to take to reduce that number.
David Mowat
There has been no estimate of the number of local authorities with low level of social care provision. Access to adult social care is based on the level of need an adult has and not on the number of users.
In April 2015, the Care Act 2014 introduced a national eligibility criteria for access to adult social care. The Act requires that local authorities must meet the needs of any adult whose needs meet this national criteria. Authorities cannot restrict eligibility beyond this threshold. This ensures that the most vulnerable adults have their eligible needs met.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of the signalling component of the Great Western Modernisation Programme at the most recent date for which figures are available.
Claire Perry
At present Network Rail’s Chair, Sir Peter Hendy, is reviewing the enhancements programme, including upgrades on the Great Western line. Due to interdependencies, renewals of signalling must be looked at in parallel with this, as part of Network Rail’s work to update its Delivery Plan. Therefore it is not possible to provide an up to date cost estimate until the conclusions of these reviews and plans are known.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times Minsters in his Department visited defence establishments in Northern Ireland in 2014.
Penny Mordaunt
There were five Ministerial visits during 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many requests have been made to the DVLA for vehicle owner addresses in the last 12 months by private parking companies.
Andrew Jones
Requests to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for vehicle keeper data can be made electronically or manually by post.
In 2015, 3,623,724 requests for vehicle keeper data from private parking companies were made electronically. A further 253,500 requests were made manually by post. The figure for manual requests includes enquiries from private parking companies and other organisations or individuals who can demonstrate reasonable cause for needing the information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has been approached by (a) Stockport local authority, (b) Tameside local authority and (c) Greater Manchester combined authority to approve the removal of protected school land for development under Schedule 14 of the Education Act 2011 in the last three years.
Edward Timpson
Since January 2013, the Secretary of State for Education has received:
These figures include applications in those local authorities relating to land held by Academy Trusts under a lease from the local authority.
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. Secretary of State consent is also required under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 where local authorities wish to dispose of playing field land that has been used by a school in the last ten years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new school.
There are a range of reasons for these disposals. Some disposals are leases from the academy trustees back to the local authority, which allow a children’s centre on site to continue or which provide land for another school. A substantial number of consents refer to local authority maintained school sites for outright disposals where the school has closed or relocated to a new build site.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) military and (b) civilian personnel have been deployed on UN peacekeeping operations in each of the last six years.
Penny Mordaunt
The tables below show the numbers of military and civilian personnel the UK has deployed to UN mandated peacekeeping and special political missions in the last six years, as at 26 February 2016:
Military Personnel
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
|
UNFICYP (Cyprus) |
271 |
273 |
270 |
274 |
274 |
274 |
|
MINUSMA (Mali) |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
||
|
UNMISS (South Sudan) |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of Congo) |
5 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
UNSOM (Somalia) |
2 |
2 |
||||
|
UNSMIL (Libya/Tunisia) |
1 |
1 |
||||
|
TOTAL |
276 |
280 |
278 |
285 |
287 |
287 |
Civilian Personnel
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
|
MONUSCO |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
UNMISS |
4 |
4 |
2 |
|||
|
UNSMIL |
1 |
1 |
||||
|
MINUSTAH (Haiti) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|||
|
UNMIL (Liberia) |
1 |
1 |
||||
|
TOTAL |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
10 |
7 |
The civilian figures represent deployments from the Stabilisation Unit; other Government Departments also deploy civilians on UN Peacekeeping missions.
The figures do not include deployments to UN Agencies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have reviewed the implementation of the recommendations on public sector procurement made by Sir Philip Green; and whether they will ask Sir Philip to conduct a further review on policy options to reduce government borrowing.
Lord Bridges of Headley
Sir Phillip’s report contributed enormously to the development of the Coalition Government’s policies in respect of common goods and services. Many of the recommendations have been taken forward, including the creation of the Crown Commercial Service. The Crown Commercial Service brings together policy, advice and direct buying, providing commercial services to the public sector and saving money for the taxpayer.
The 2016 Budget announced that The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, with the support of the Minister for the Cabinet Office, will lead an efficiency review, reporting in 2018. We will set out details of this in due course.