The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department provided in start-up costs for the Greater Manchester City Region Mayor.
Mr Mark Francois
We are not providing funding for start-up costs for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority mayor, with any such costs being met by the Combined Authority from the resources available to it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Victoria Atkins on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what work her Department has undertaken with international partners on access to sources of data that can be used to enhance the security of the UK border.
James Brokenshire
The Government works multilaterally and bilaterally with foreign governments, international law enforcement partners and security agencies to share data in order to strengthen the UK border against a range of security threats. The UK uses Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents Database to identify individuals trying to enter the UK on such documents.
Since April 2015, the UK has also had access to the Schengen Information System which allows us intercept individuals at the border who are subject to a European Arrest Warrant. The Government also works with the global carrier industry to process passenger and crew information to inform border security decisions in advance of travel to or from the UK and at the border.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of women undergoing chemotherapy who experience side effects of that treatment.
David Mowat
The Department has made no such estimate. Chemotherapy involves the use of powerful cancer killing drugs and side effects are common. The severity and nature of the side effects will vary from patient to patient, and will also depend to the type of drug being used and the duration of the treatment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average amount of student loans outstanding for graduates has been in each of the last three years ending on 31 March 2016.
Joseph Johnson
The Student Loans Company (SLC) administers student loans for each of the UK Government Administrations. Statistics covering English student loan borrowers are published annually by the SLC in the Statistical First Release (SFR) ‘Student Loans in England’:
http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx
Information on the average outstanding Higher Education loan balance of borrowers liable to repay by repayment cohort and tax year can be found in table 5A(iii) of the SFR. The figures refer to borrowers who received loans as English domiciled students studying in the UK or as EU domiciled students studying in England.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance his Department plans to give to local authorities to ensure that they are able to provide new affordable housing to people on low incomes.
Brandon Lewis
More council housing has been built since 2010 than in the previous 13 years. 2014 saw the highest number of council housing starts for 23 years.
Almost £222 million of extra borrowing headroom has been allocated to 36 councils in England to support over 3,000 new affordable homes in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
The 2011-15 Affordable Homes Programme exceeded expectations – delivering 186,000 new affordable homes -16,000 more than the target. In addition, this Government is committed to delivering a further 275,000 new affordable homes by 2020. Through the 2015-18 Affordable Homes programme, we have already allocated around £1.4 billion to support this delivery
The Government is committed to helping hard working people across the country to own their own home. We believe that shared ownership has an important role to play in helping those who aspire to home ownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it.
We launched a one-off £36 million funding package in August to pave the way for the first wave of Starter Homes on brownfield sites that would otherwise not be built on to help more young people into discounted home ownership. Of this, up to £10million will be made available to councils in England. 200,000 Starter Homes will be built by 2020/21.
Right to buy additions are due within 3 years of sales: 3,694 new Right to Buy addition starts and acquisitions were delivered against 3,054 additional homes sold in the first year of the scheme. Receipts from the sale of Right to Buy homes will continue to help authorities to build new additional properties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects applicants for payments under CAP to be able to register their identity using GOV.UK Verify as planned under the new CAP regime.
Matthew Hancock
Applicants can already register and sign in online for Rural Payments with GOV.UK Verify.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many employees in his Department have (a) taken the CESG Certified Cyber-Security Training Course and (b) received other relevant cyber-security training.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
HM Government takes the cyber security training of its staff extremely seriously. There are a range of cyber security courses available depending on the role of specific staff; including the e-learning course, ‘Responsible for Information’ which is available to all civil servants on the Civil Service Learning Website.
This course, the development of which was funded through the National Cyber Security Programme, addresses information security, including cyber security. There are different modules for general users, Information Asset Owners, Senior Information Risk Owners, and Board and Non—Executive Board members. To date over 487,000 civil servants have taken the course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will make representations to Rt Hon Tony Blair to request that he accede to requests from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee to give oral evidence on compensation for victims of IRA violence.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
As I set out in my speech on 11 February, this Government condemns terrorism. We take very seriously the needs of victims of terrorism who, it is important to remember, suffered the most as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles. My Department has assisted the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in its call for evidence on the issue of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism. The Government has every sympathy for the victims of these appalling atrocities. I would of course encourage anyone who can help the Committee with its work to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 23 February (HL6060), whether, in the light of clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill and the laws regarding pre-entry trade union membership, they will take appropriate action to ensure that student unions are bound by the same rules as other unions.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Student unions are not trade unions, as specified by Section 1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Therefore, none of the reforms being provided by the Trade Union Bill will impact students’ unions.
The Education Act 1994 already requires publicly-funded universities to take reasonable steps to ensure that their students’ union observes the right for students to opt out of membership.
The Green Paper “Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice” sought public views on the role of students’ unions and what further steps could be taken to increase transparency and accountability to individual members. The Government plans to publish a White Paper in response in the spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to hold events for cities intending to apply to be the 2023 European City of Culture.
Mr Edward Vaizey
DCMS will be running an event this year for potential bidding Local Authorities for the European Capital of Culture 2023 to provide information on the benefits, processes involved and generate interest in this exciting opportunity – in advance of the competition commencing in 2017.