The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Road Investment Strategy schemes are due to begin construction in 2019-20.
Andrew Jones
The schedule for RIS schemes is set out in Highways England’s Delivery Plan 2015-2020 which is available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Miller on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what process her Department has for deciding whether (a) additional electricity generation is needed in a local area and (b) that generation should be centralised or decentralised
Andrea Leadsom
The Government does not determine where new generation should connect to the network; this is a commercial decision for individual developers. The Department has, however, introduced the Capacity Market, which is designed to incentivise both new generation investment and maximise the use of existing assets to ensure that Great Britain as a whole has a secure, affordable and clean energy supply. On 6 May, Government announced that it would buy more capacity, earlier, and bring forward the start of the Capacity Market delivery period by a year to 2017/18.
The network charging regimes (through the locational price zones at the high-voltage transmission network or connection charging regime at the lower voltage distribution network) provide price signals that encourage developers to connect where it is economically efficient to do so, helping to limit costs passed through to consumers. The charging regimes are designed by the network industry in line with the requirement to be cost-reflective, and are approved by Ofgem.
New generation connecting above 132kv will connect to the transmission network, whereas at that level and below, it will connect to the local distribution network. In Scotland, 132kv also forms part of the transmission network.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Attorney General, how many people were charged in 2015 under (a) section 57 and (b) section 58 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Jeremy Wright
I am answering on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice, as I am the minister that superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who is responsible for bringing charges.
The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with offences brought by way of Section 1 or Section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; or Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004; or Sections 57 and 58 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (Sections 57, 58 and 59 were repealed and replaced by section 59A Sexual Offences Act 2003 on 13 April 2013) This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
However, although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with a particular offence, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. The table below shows the number of offences, rather than defendants, charged by way of the human trafficking offences during each of the last three calendar years. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 { 4 } |
20 |
73 |
48 |
|
Coroners and Justice Act 2009 { 71 } |
36 |
26 |
34 |
|
Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 1 } |
0 |
0 |
5 |
|
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 57 } |
22 |
35 |
69 |
|
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 58 } |
84 |
35 |
75 |
|
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59 } |
4 |
4 |
9 |
|
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59A } |
1 |
17 |
94 |
|
Total Human Trafficking Offences Charged |
167 |
190 |
334 |
|
Data Source: CPS Management Information System |
No offences have yet been recorded under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which came into force on 31st July 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints his Department received in relation to vaccination against human papilloma virus in each month of 2016.
Nicola Blackwood
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) collects reports of suspected side effects to vaccines and medicines via the Yellow Card Scheme. It is important to note that a report of a suspected side effect does not necessarily mean the vaccine or medicine was the cause of the reported event, and coincidental illness can also be a factor. Such reports remain under continual review by the MHRA in order to detect possible new risks.
The MHRA has received 198 United Kingdom spontaneous suspected adverse reaction reports temporally-associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine between 1 January 2016 and 9 October 2016. Table 1 below provides a breakdown of these reports by month.
|
Month |
Number of reports |
|
January |
16 |
|
February |
22 |
|
March |
24 |
|
April |
23 |
|
May |
33 |
|
June |
26 |
|
July |
15 |
|
August |
7 |
|
September |
32 |
|
October to date (9 October 2016) |
0 |
More than 9 million doses of HPV vaccine have been given in the UK, with close to 90% of eligible teenagers vaccinated. As with all vaccines, safety remains under continual review, and HPV vaccine has a very good safety record.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on gunmakers of a ban on the use of lead in shotgun ammunition; and what plans she has to introduce such a ban.
Rory Stewart
The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible.
A representative from the Gun Trade Association contributed to the group and the formation of its report.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s publication, Mandatory Programmes official statistics: May 2011 to August 2015, published on 25 November 2015, how many people who joined the Mandatory Work Activity scheme during this period subsequently completed a work placement in full.
Priti Patel
Mandatory Work Activity is a supportive programme designed to help claimants who need extra support from a short work placement to re-focus their job search activity and gain further experience of work. Unemployed Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit claimants are referred for up to 4 weeks work experience and will participate on the placement for up to 30 hours a week.
The number of referrals and starts is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working.
An impact assessment of Mandatory Work Activity was published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-work-activity–2) which considered referrals to the programme in the period May to July 2012. An evaluation of Mandatory Work Activity also published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-mandatory-work-activity-rr823) which included a telephone survey of participants who had been referred to and started an Mandatory Work Allowance placement.
The evaluation and impact assessment were conducted in 2012 and does not cover the period of the Official Statistics from May 2011 to August 2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs which will be created at Barrow shipyards by the Successor submarine project; and what estimate it has made of the anticipated duration of employment of those jobs.
Mr Philip Dunne
We expect the Successor submarine programme will sustain thousands of jobs at Barrow into the 2030s. These jobs will ensure that the UK retains and develops its world leading skills at Barrow and a wide range of companies across the nation, making a significant contribution to the UK economy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the minimum number of bids for rail franchises they require to create the necessary competitive tension to ensure value for money for the travelling public, and in particular whether they consider that three bids is sufficient for that purpose.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Whilst the Department for Transport prefer to have three bids for each franchise competition, as was the established practice under the previous government, we are prepared to accept that on occasion, we may only have two genuine bidders.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is any provision in the agreement between NXET Trains Limited and his Department of 15 July 2014 on the Essex Thameside franchise relating to the closure of ticket offices.
Claire Perry
The agreement between NXET Trains Limited and the Department for Transport is in the public domain and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486697/essex-thameside.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of regulations relating to drones and public safety.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of our citizens. That is why we apply one of the highest regulatory safety standards for commercial aviation in the world.
There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. Guidance on tackling the risks of criminal drone use has been provided to constabularies across the UK.
The Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and airlines), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective. Further work is underway to better understand the risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes to ensure that regulations remain fit for purpose.
The Cross Government Working Group on RPAS has undertaken analysis of the use of drones for criminal purposes, including the potential use of drones for terrorist purposes, and the impacts of their negligent use near sensitive locations, such as airports. This work is kept under review and is being used to inform research and testing to improve mitigation techniques and strategies.
Awareness and education on current restrictions are vitally important. The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking activities to raise awareness of the basic safety requirements, including an ongoing ‘Dronecode’ safety awareness campaign, issuing safety leaflets at the point of sale, publishing an animated video on their website, and running ‘small UAS’ Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.