The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the pass rates in driving tests were in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not record pass rates for each constituent part of the UK. Pass rates by test centre are published on GOV.UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England is not being reviewed annually; what meetings have taken place between Public Health England and the Department of Health since March 2013 to review that framework; and whether the Department of Health has any plans to update that framework.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Department of Health officials meet regularly with Public Health England (PHE) to discuss progress on sexual health, including the ambitions in the Sexual Health Improvement Framework (SHIF). Since the Framework was published PHE has developed Sexual and Reproductive Health Profiles to support local authorities, public health leads and others to monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their local population and the contribution of local public health related systems. Trends are shown at both England and local authority level for a range of indictors that match the ambitions in the SHIF where data is available. A further annual progress report on the Framework would duplicate this work. Whilst there are no current plans to update the SHIF, in December 2015 PHE published their Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV, strategic action plan, 2016 to 2019, which complements the SHIF. A copy of the plan is attached.
Departmental and PHE officials have met with the Local Government Association, English HIV and Sexual Health Commissioners Group, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health where open access sexual health services were discussed. PHE has undertaken a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health.
Local democratic accountability is at the heart of the accountability of local authorities for their statutory duty to improve the public’s health. PHE has a specific role in assurance of the ring-fence grant and that local authorities are meeting the grant conditions and the terms of the associated statutory regulations. PHE publishes data on outcomes from services for each local authority in England and can provide support and advice where necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wilcox on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much someone earning (1) £15,000, and (2) £150,000, a year would have paid in direct taxation, including income tax and national insurance, in (a) 2009–10 and (b) 2015–16.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Someone earning £15,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £2,726 in 2009-10 and £1,713 in 2015-16.
Someone earning £150,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £55,189 in 2009-10 and £59,914 in 2015-16.
This is summarised in the following tables, which break down the liability by Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs):
|
1) £15,000 |
2009-10 |
2015-16 |
difference |
|
Income Tax |
£1,705 |
£880 |
-£825 |
|
Employee NICs |
£1,021 |
£833 |
-£189 |
|
Total tax |
£2,726 |
£1,713 |
-£1,014 |
|
Net income |
£12,274 |
£13,287 |
£1,014 |
|
2) £150,000 |
2009-10 |
2015-16 |
difference |
|
Income Tax |
£49,930 |
£53,643 |
£3,713 |
|
Employee NICs |
£5,259 |
£6,271 |
£1,012 |
|
Total tax |
£55,189 |
£59,914 |
£4,725 |
|
Net income |
£94,811 |
£90,086 |
-£4,725 |
This assumes that the individual was born after 5 April 1948 (and therefore not receiving the Age-related Personal Allowance), is paying employee NICs (not contracted out), and has a gross income from pay only. The Income tax calculations assume no other allowances or deductions. The NICs is calculated on an annual basis which assumes a smooth distribution of the income across the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to engage with international partners to tackle the persecution of secularists or of people with no faith in Bangladesh.
Mr Hugo Swire
As I said to the House on 24 May, there is more we can do to help the Government of Bangladesh to tackle the challenges they face. I raised my concerns about the situation there most recently with the Bangladesh High Commissioner on 24 May.
Our High Commission in Dhaka regularly meets international partners to discuss the treatment of secular activists and minority groups in Bangladesh. Most recently, on 22 May, our High Commissioner met Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, with other EU Ambassadors, to discuss signs that intolerance across Bangladesh is increasing
In September 2015, officials from the British High Commission in Dhaka met Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during his visit to Bangladesh. We urge the Government of Bangladesh to implement the recommendations in his report, which includes a call for the government to “protect the vibrant civil society and pluralistic society in Bangladesh”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-07-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing GP waiting times.
Alistair Burt
There is no national standard for waiting to see a general practitioner (GP) and data on waiting times is not collected centrally. To implement the Government’s commitment to transform GP access however, £175 million has been invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients – a third of the population – have benefited from improved access and transformational change at local level. This includes more appointments being made available, especially at times more convenient for patients, such as weekday evenings and weekends. It also includes different approaches like telephone consultations and better use of the wider primary care workforce (such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners, pharmacists, the voluntary sector, physiotherapists and paramedics) to deliver improved access to patients. These approaches have helped release local GP capacity and more appropriately matched the needs of patients with the most appropriate professional to care for them. In addition to Access Fund sites, other clinical commissioning groups may offer local initiatives for improving access to GPs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of ships sailing under flags of convenience, and of the impact of that practice on the British maritime industry.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Department for Transport analysis of IHS Global data on ship characteristics as at 31 Dec 2015 shows 19,661 vessels registered on open flag registers.
An analysis of the impact of these registers on the UK maritime industry has not been conducted. However, the Maritime Growth Study (2015) did note that while the volume of tonnage on open registers is significant the amount managed or owned by companies located in these countries is far less substantial.
The UK is a leading global maritime centre. Government is committed to supporting the UK maritime sector and ensuring growth in UK Ship Register through a greater commercial focus while retaining its reputation for quality.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that guidance on changes to the disabled students’ allowance is easily accessible to (a) parents and (b) schools.
Edward Timpson
Reforms to the special educational needs and disability system mean local authorities must publish information in their Local Offers about support available to young people in Higher Education (HE), including Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) and the process and timescales for making an application for DSAs. We would expect this information to cover changes to DSAs.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is currently considering the responses made to the recent consultation on proposed changes to DSAs, and the government response to the consultation will be published in due course. The proposed changes aim to make HE as accessible as possible, to re-balance support between HE providers and DSAs, and to improve value for money.DSAs will remain available to complement the support provided by institutions, and students will continue to receive the support they need.
BIS has been clear that any changes implemented will take effect from August 2016 for the Academic year 2016/17. BIS will be working closely with the Student Loans Company and other stakeholders, to ensure that correct information is easily available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18925, which visits referred to that (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department made included a visit to a food bank.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department does not hold the information requested. Ministers have conducted visits to food banks in various capacities, including in their roles as Members of Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-01-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases have been transferred from community rehabilitation companies to the National Probation Service for risk escalation.
Andrew Selous
Offenders managed under the statutory Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements and those who present a high risk of serious harm are managed by the National Probation Service (NPS), while medium- and lower-risk offenders are managed by the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs).
Risk is a dynamic factor, and in many cases the degree of risk presented by an offender will change during the course of his or her sentence. The new probation structure that was put in place by the previous Government is designed to respond to this by providing for management of offenders initially allocated to a CRC to transfer to the NPS if their risk increases to the higher level.
In the first eight months following the handover of the CRCs to their new owners, 5281 offenders have been transferred from CRCs to NPS, out of a total of 234,229 offenders managed by the CRCs and NPS.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff in his Department receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.
Alun Cairns
No staff in the Wales Office receive these allowances.