Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional financial assistance is available to students whose maintenance loans do not fully cover the costs of accommodation; and what estimate she has made of the proportion of students who are so affected.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government’s policy is that maintenance support is provided to cover a range of student expenditure, and is only a contribution to students’ costs. Maintenance support is linked to parental income, to ensure that students from lower income backgrounds receive the highest rates of loan, and for new students beginning study this academic year, maintenance support has increased by up to 10.3% on the previous year.

    In addition to their maintenance support, students may be eligible for financial assistance from their university. In 2016/17, £745 million is expected to be spent by universities on measures to support the access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including through bursaries and fee waivers. Such assistance is over and above the other sources of income students may have such as their families or from paid work.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the proportion of households in Northern Ireland with access to superfast broadband.

    Matt Hancock

    At the end of Phase 1 (March 2016) 82% of premises in Northern Ireland had access to superfast broadband. This will increase to just under 87% following Phase 2 (December 2017). The Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project team is taking forward a contract change request to extend coverage further with £1.7 million of gainshare funding that has been returned by the supplier as a result of higher than expected take-up. There will be further gainshare funding over the seven year term of the contract which will become available to support further additional coverage. Furthermore, the UK Government is committed to a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, so every premise in the country will have access to broadband at a minimum speed, and our ambition is that this is 10Mbps.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with its UN and EU member counterparts on the reform of Standard Industrial Classification codes in order more accurately to measure the growth of the video games industry.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Opportunity to review how the ONS SIC code system captures the computer games industry only occurs when the UN considers revising the overall SIC system. The UN last considered a revision in 2015, and decided against it.

    DCMS is working with trade bodies across the Creative Industries, in particular with Ukie and Nesta, to build the case for change when the next opportunity to review the SIC codes arises in 2017. DCMS also continues to work with ONS to lobby for these changes.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the current proportion of total UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) revenues raised from Birmingham Airport and (b) what proportion of total UK APD will be generated at Birmingham Airport if Scotland halves its APD rates.

    Damian Hinds

    Air Passenger Duty is payable by airlines and not on a per airport basis. Therefore HMRC does not collect the data to produce a reliable estimate.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of households in temporary accommodation which will be affected by the introduction of the lower benefit cap; and if he will estimate the average proportion of the income of such households that will be subject to that cap.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. A link to the impact assessment is included.

    http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006.pdf

    “

  • Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time between (a) offence commission and charge, (b) charge and first court appearance and (c) first court appearance to sentencing or acquittal was for all sexual offences cases completed in Greater Manchester in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.

    Mike Penning

    Our courts system is in need of urgent reform, which is why we have committed to building a justice system that is swifter and more certain.

    We are investing £700 million over the next five years to create a more effective service. We will utilise modern technology to meet the needs of everyone who uses our services.

    MOJ do not hold figures on dates of sentencing or acquittals and have instead provided the time from first listing to completion.

    The age of a victim is only known where specified as part of the wording of an offence in statute. Figures for sexual offences cases where the victim was a minor are based on cases where the victim was known to be a minor, and figures where the victim was an adult include cases where the age of the victim was not known.

    Data included in the attached tables.

    Table 1 – the average duration from offence to charge, from charge to first listing, and from first listing to completion for sexual offences cases in Greater Manchester LCJB and in England and Wales, for cases completing in 2013, 2014 and January to September 2015.

    Table 2 – the average duration (days) between offence to charge, charge to first listing, and first listing to completion for sexual offence cases completed in England and Wales where the victim was a minor or an adult, 2013 to Q1-Q3 2015.

    Table 3 – the average durations for sexual offences cases in England and Wales. These are an update of Tables 5.1 and 5.2 in the ‘Overview of Sexual Offending in England and Wales’ publication. Figures are for the last 12 months available, from October 2014 to September 2015.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what new proposals they have for tackling levels of congestion in towns and cities in the light of the reduction in police service numbers available for enforcement.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I provided on 2 December 2015 (HL 3693) which clarified this Government has an ambitious strategy for tackling congestion in our cities and towns and improving performance on our roads.

    Local highway authorities who are responsible for managing the local road network have a statutory duty under the Traffic Management Act to provide better conditions for all road users and to help tackle congestion in towns and cities. The size and make-up of the police workforce is a matter for Chief Constables to determine locally in conjunction with their democratically-elected Police and Crime Commissioners and working with other local stakeholders. It is, therefore, ultimately a decision for the Chief Constable to deploy resources according to the priorities agreed in its policing plan.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on whether drivers who are waiting for medical tests to confirm whether they are safe to drive should retain their licence in the meantime.

    Andrew Jones

    Drivers can retain their entitlement to drive while medical investigations are ongoing, providing the licence has not been previously withdrawn on medical grounds and the driver is not a risk to road safety. Drivers are advised to check with their doctor or DVLA if they are unsure whether they should continue driving while their fitness to drive is being assessed.

    Information about driving while waiting for an application to be processed is included on the driving licence application form.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the UK is committed to joining an EU army if one is formed and we are invited to do so.

    Earl Howe

    The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will never be part of a European Army. We have consistently said that we will oppose any measures which would undermine member states’ competence for their own military forces, or lead to competition and duplication with NATO, which is the cornerstone of our defence.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2016 to Question 41004, what the cost to the NHS was of financing free prescriptions in 2015-16.

    David Mowat

    Assuming that for each prescription item a prescription charge would have been paid, the revenue foregone from providing free prescriptions during 2015-16 was £8 billion. However, as many people could limit their total prescription costs by purchasing a Prescription Prepayment Certificate in the event that they were no longer exempt, we estimate that the actual revenue foregone was in the region of £2 billion.