The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of disability living allowance applications for children diagnosed with ADHD have been rejected in each of the last five financial years.
Justin Tomlinson
The requested data is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on bilateral relations of recent decisions by China to construct new islands on coral reefs in disputed waters.
Mr Hugo Swire
Whilst the UK takes no position on the underlying sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, we are concerned about the impact of any unilateral actions, such as large scale land reclamation, and the risk these may pose to freedom of navigation and regional stability.
We have raised these issues with China through our regular bilateral dialogue. We have also called on all parties to exercise restraint and pursue the settlement of disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to refrain from activity likely to raise tensions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of probation service delivery across the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Our probation reforms are designed to make sure almost all offenders will receive support on release including, for the first time, those sentenced to less than 12 months. These reforms will help to reduce reoffending, cut crime and improve public safety.
We hold Community Rehabilitation Companies to account for their performance and seek continuous improvement. We have identified some areas of strength and some areas for improvement. Staffordshire and West Midlands Community Rehabilitation Company have reassured us that they are making the necessary improvements and we are closely monitoring progress.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the climate change levy raised from non-domestic users in London in each year since 2010.
Damian Hinds
The climate change levy is collected on a national basis from energy suppliers and it is not possible to break down receipts by region. Detail on Climate Change Levy receipts on a national basis can be found at https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Robinson on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help people with disabilities with the cost of housing in the private rented sector.
Justin Tomlinson
There are a number of ways the Department helps people with disabilities who are entitled to Housing Benefit and are renting in the private sector.
The enhanced package of Discretionary Housing Payments funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable LAs to protect vulnerable claimants and support households affected by the Housing Benefit reforms.
In addition to this, single disabled people under 35 years of age who are in receipt of the severe disability premium are exempt from the shared accommodation rate under the Local Housing Allowance scheme.
Disabled people with overnight care needs may be eligible for an additional bedroom for a non-resident carer under the size criteria rules.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the firm work commitments relating to Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence 189 which expire on 30 June 2016 have been satisfied.
Andrea Leadsom
Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence 189 carries an Initial Term Work Programme to obtain and reprocess seismic data and to drill a well. The seismic data has been acquired and reprocessed. The operator has requested from the Oil and Gas Authority an amendment of the licence to allow additional time for the drilling of the well.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Eames on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the removal of toxic waste left after conflict, in particular in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Earl Howe
The Ministry of Defence has a legal obligation to comply with UK and EU legislation on environmental protection. A policy statement made by the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) in August 2014, ‘Health, Safety and Environmental Protection in Defence’ (HS&EP), states that "overseas we apply our UK arrangements where reasonably practicable and, in addition, respond to host nations’ relevant HS&EP expectations." This policy statement can be accessed at the gov.uk website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-states-policy-statement-on-safety-health-environmental-protection-and-sustainable-development
UK forces overseas operate under NATO regulations and therefore must also comply with ‘STANAG 7141 – Joint NATO Doctrine for Environmental Protection During NATO-led Military Activities’, which sets out the environmental planning guidelines for military activities.
Following withdrawal from both the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, clean up of hazardous materials was carried out as far as practicable in accordance with relevant legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the end of year budget surplus or deficit was for each further education college in the Liverpool City Region in each financial year since 2010-11.
Robert Halfon
Colleges own this information. They are required to publish the information on their own website and the Skills Funding Agency publish a collated picture on GOV.UK. All the information requested for this question is already in the public domain: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfa-financial-management-college-accounts
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in the Cayman Islands on improving LGBT rights.
Sir Alan Duncan
The British Government works closely with the Overseas Territories (OTs) on LGBT rights to ensure that all OTs meet their international human rights obligations in this area. In September, the UK Solicitor General chaired a human rights session at the annual conference of OT Attorneys General, where LGBT equality was extensively discussed. The Solicitor General will co-chair a session in November with the Minister for the Overseas Territories, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, on human rights at the Joint Ministerial Council. And earlier this month, Baroness Anelay addressed LGB&T issues when she spoke to the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly. We expect all OT Governments to comply with their evolving international obligations in the field of human rights. Legislating in this area is for OT Governments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, how many cases of individuals imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax were appealed to the High Court, and in how many of those cases the appeals were upheld.
Lord Faulks
Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:
|
Year |
Total |
|
2012 |
107 |
|
2013 |
108 |
|
2014 |
89 |
Notes:
These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics
In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).
It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.
Committal to prison for non-payment of council tax can be challenged through a judicial review in the High Court. The table below shows the number of judicial reviews relating to imprisonment for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the outcomes.
|
Year |
Number of Judicial Reviews |
Upheld |
Refused |
|
2012 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2013 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2014 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
Notes:
These data were obtained from a manual check of judicial reviews carried out specifically to answer this question.