The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects the Brimstone 2 missile system for Typhoon aircraft to be in service.
Harriett Baldwin
The planned in service date for the integration of the Brimstone 2 missile system on the Typhoon aircraft is December 2018, as previously published in the Major Projects Report 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping.
Mr Marcus Jones
One person without a home is one too many, and nobody should ever have to sleep rough. That is why the Government is clear that prevention must be at the heart of everything we do to reduce homelessness. We are investing £500 million to prevent, relieve and reduce homelessness in this Parliament, including protecting £315 million homelessness prevention funding for local authorities to help them continue to provide quality advice and assistance to everyone who approaches them for help.
We have also increased central government investment to tackle homelessness to £139 million. This includes £10 million to help those new to the streets, or at imminent risk of sleeping rough, building on the success of projects such as No Second Night Out. Alongside this, we have £10 million of Social Impact Bond funding to support entrenched rough sleepers with the most complex needs, building on the success of the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, run by the Greater London Authority.
In addition, we committed £100 million at Budget to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to provide at least 2,000 places for people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis.
I am also considering Bob Blackman MP’s Homelessness Reduction Bill and the role that further legislation might play in preventing homelessness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what alternative options his Department offers to personal independence payment (PIP) applicants unable to travel to PIP assessment centres.
Justin Tomlinson
Claimants attending an assessment by public or personal transport can claim back their travel costs. Where public transport is unavailable or the claimant is unable to use it, the claimant can contact their assessment provider to ask if taxi-fares would be payable for their journey.
Alternatively, the option of a face-to-face consultation in the claimant’s home is available if the claimant indicates that they are unfit to travel to a consultation or where travel would require high levels of support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Faulkner of Worcester on 2015-12-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to encourage clubs in the Football League to comply with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority’s Accessible Stadia guide.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
We would encourage the Football League to make a similar commitment to that made by the Premier League that all clubs in that league willcomply with the measures set out in the Accessible Stadia Guide within an agreed timescale.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which external agency is carrying out his Department’s assessment of the demand and capacity outcomes of HLOS1; what the cost is to his Department of that assessment; and what progress his Department has made on developing options for evaluating the benefits of HLOS2.
Claire Perry
The assessment of demand and capacity outcomes for HLOS1 (2009-14) is being undertaken in-house by the Department based on information provided by the rail industry. The cost is primarily the use of existing staff. The benefits of HLOS2 (2014-19) are being appraised on a project by project basis at present, with wider data also being gathered for a review when the five year investment period has concluded in 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to involve NICE in the specialised commissioning policy development process.
George Freeman
NHS England is in discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in relation to two areas of potential support to its clinical commissioning policy development process for directly commissioned specialised services from 2016/17.
The first is the delivery of rapid evidence reviews (systematic reviews of the available evidence of clinical effectiveness for particular treatments and indications). The second is the production of commissioning support documents for licenced drugs which NHS England commissions directly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to implement an adult hearing screening programme; and if he will recommend to the National Screening Committee that it undertakes a public health campaign on deafness and hearing loss.
Alistair Burt
The UK National Screening Committee recommended in 2015 that screening for hearing loss in adults should not be offered because:
– although hearing loss in older adults is a serious public health problem the evidence is too limited to establish the type of screening test to be used, the severity of hearing loss to target, the age of the population to be screened and the frequency of screening;
– uncertainty on the effectiveness of the long term use of hearing aids and on the effectiveness of additional interventions aimed at improving the duration of hearing aid use; and
– the absence of randomised controlled trials of screening in the general population. Screening has not been shown to provide any hearing related improvement in quality of life in comparison to hearing loss identified in other ways.
There are currently no plans by Public Health England to run an awareness campaign on adult hearing loss.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, on immigration detention, HCWS679, whether there will be independent oversight of decisions to detain pregnant women.
James Brokenshire
At present, detention is authorised by an officer of at least the rank of Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) or Higher Executive Officer (HEO). As stated in the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement of 14 January, the Government is developing a new approach to the case management of those detained. This is intended to replace the existing detention review process with a clear removal plan for all those in detention.
It will ensure that all detainees, including pregnant women, spend the minimum possible time in detention. Under the new policy in order for detention to be extended beyond 72 hours ministerial authorisation will be required and the maximum detention period will be one week.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards already provide independent oversight of detention facilities and conditions of detention. Individuals, including pregnant women, are given prior notification of their liability to removal from the UK by the Home Office and they would be detained only for the purposes of identification or removal.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on relations between the UK and Turkey of the decision in the Turkish Parliament to strip parliamentary immunity from 124 deputies.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The lifting of parliamentary immunity is a matter for the Turkish parliament. As a modern democracy and candidate for EU accession, we would expect Turkey to undertake any subsequent legal processes transparently and fully respect the rule of law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from the higher education sector on the future of the Erasmus programme.
Joseph Johnson
The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations, and the potential effects could vary considerably. Since the referendum, I have met with stakeholders including representatives from:
Officials have additionally met with or spoken to:
They have also received various representations.