The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have carried out of the average annual earnings for (1) men, (2) women, and (3) all individuals, aged between 22 and 24 inclusive who are in possession of a first degree and who are not in full-time education.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) deportation and (b) forced removal processes were halted after the intended deportee had boarded their deportation flight and before that flight had departed in each year since 2010.
James Brokenshire
This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of restricting advertising on e-cigarettes on people using tobacco products.
Jane Ellison
The best thing a smoker can do for their health is to quit smoking. We know that there are now over a million people who have completely replaced smoking with e-cigarettes and that the evidence indicates that they are significantly less harmful to health than smoking.
Whilst the Government recognises the potential benefits of e-cigarettes, the quality of products on the market remains variable. It is right therefore that proportionate regulation is introduced to introduce minimum standards for safety and quality of all e-cigarettes and e-liquids and that information is provided to consumers so that they can make informed choices. This is the aim of the regulatory framework set out in the revised Tobacco Products Directive.
The Impact Assessment that accompanied the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 assessed the expected impact of the advertising provisions on demand for e-cigarettes to be insubstantial. There is already a very high awareness of e-cigarettes and their role in replacing tobacco use amongst the public. The restrictions on advertising in certain media do not prevent businesses communicating, factually, directly to individual smokers or ex-smokers about their products, either in physical stores or internet pages under their control.
The restrictions do not prevent the publication of independently compiled reviews or discussion between users and potential users in internet forums. A balance is therefore struck between reducing exposure of children to imagery and marketing of these products and providing sufficient information to smokers wishing to use these products to support them in quit attempts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what methodology he plans to use to determine the market rents of social housing properties for the purposes of the pay to stay policy.
Brandon Lewis
The Government believes that it is only fair that tenants who benefit from low social rents, but who are on higher incomes and can afford it, should contribute more. For those council housing tenants who are subject to the policy, the majority will not face a full market rent, but will instead pay a higher rent on a graduated basis using an income taper (set at 15% of income above the threshold). In those cases where a full market rent is payable, it is for the local authority to decide on a methodology for determining market rent appropriate to their particular area. My Department will be supporting them through this process with advice and guidance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Grant on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to initiate a further review of gambling advertising to follow up the review by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling of 2014.
Tracey Crouch
The Government is committed to ensuring that people, particularly the young and vulnerable, are protected from the risk of gambling-related harm. We are keeping the issue of advertising under review to ensure that sufficient protections are in place, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on measures to improve air quality in each year since 2010-11; how much funding has been allocated to air quality improvement in the 2015-16 financial year; and what estimate she has made of the funding needed until 2020 to bring air pollution levels to within legal limits.
Rory Stewart
The Government has committed over £2 billion since 2011 in measures to improve air quality. As road transport is the dominant source of pollution most of the funding has been allocated from the Department for Transport. Defra’s contribution has taken the form of payments made under the Air Quality Grant Scheme to support local authority action on air pollution. Total payments made under the Scheme in each year are as follows:
|
2010-11 |
£2,361,000 |
|
2011-12 |
£3,078,745 |
|
2012-13 |
£3,100,000 |
|
2013-14 |
£1,000,000 |
|
2014-15 |
£1,000,000 |
|
2015-16 (allocated) |
£500,000 |
Future funding will depend on the outcome of the current Spending Review.
The government has recently consulted on draft national and local Air Quality Plans for the UK. The finalised plans will be submitted to the European Commission by 31 December.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many young people are classified as long-term unemployed in the East Dorset District Council area.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when (a) her Department and (b) the contractor G4S became aware of concerns that asylum seekers were being housed in properties with doors that are all uniform or nearly uniform in colour.
James Brokenshire
Home Office officials are working closely with our housing providers to ensure that asylum seeker accommodation is not easily identifiable. I am not aware of a uniform door colour being the practice in any other region. My officials have also spoken to our housing providers to tell them that such a practice is not acceptable.
I was first made aware of this issue when The Times contacted the Home Office in mid-January. G4S has investigated correspondence and discussions on the issue of external door colour in the North East and has confirmed that it was raised in 2012 by a Middlesbrough local councillor and was considered by the G4S audit and assurance team, no complaints from asylum seekers relating to this matter were found and a response was issued.
As I said to the House on 20 January, I instructed officials to look into this issue as a matter of urgency and I expect that the audit will be concluded on the Home Office side very shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS Improvement, in commissioning management consultancies to work with turnaround trusts, will exclude those consultancies which were engaged in any failed initiatives from the previous round of consultancy-driven financial recovery initiatives.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The guidance for use of management consultancies is set out as part of the spending approvals process. Monitor has published the following guidance for foundation trusts “Consultancy spending approval process: Initial guidance to NHS foundation trusts” with the Trust Development Authority (TDA) publishing similar for NHS trusts “Consultancy spending controls: Initial Guidance to NHS Trusts”. Copies of the guidance are attached.
The guidance is clear that expenditure on management consultancy must demonstrate that the skills and expertise of advisors cannot be delivered through use of existing resources. It is also a requirement that value for money must be demonstrated. This approach is the same for NHS providers, NHS Improvement or any NHS organisation. Therefore we are content NHS Improvement’s approach to managing turnaround programmes is consistent with this requirement.
NHS Improvement ensures that lessons learned from all financial turnaround programmes are taken into account when considering how to handle any financially challenged providers requiring turnaround actions in the future. This includes the use of the best available, most appropriate consultancies with the right blend of skills and experience required to deliver the turnaround programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Goudie on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 1 March (HL6250), whether they retain details of the names and battalions, or other units, of Burmese Army soldiers who receive training from the UK.
Earl Howe
We retain details of the names and current units of Burmese Army soldiers who receive training from the UK. However, we do not hold any information on which units these individuals may have served in previously.