The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the change in expenditure has been on working tax credits between 2013 and 2015.
Damian Hinds
The information requested is available from the HM Revenue and Customs Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15 (Note 6.1 – page 153). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of wider access to efficient refrigerated transport to reducing (a) food waste in developing countries and (b) carbon dioxide emissions.
Mr Nick Hurd
DFID is working to support partner countries to tackle poverty and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by building sustainable infrastructure, increasing their access to clean energy and reducing deforestation. DFID recognises the importance of investment in trade and transport logistics to improve efficiency and reduce delays, which have major impacts on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. These improvements will have downstream impacts on many trade related issues including reducing the amount of spoilt goods from transit delays. We are engaged in this area in a number of ways. For example, Trade Mark East Africa is helping to improve the major trade corridors in East Africa to reduce the time and expense of transporting goods. Furthermore, the investment by CDC group into Grindrod, a South African logistics company, is enabling it to expand its transport logistics investments across sub-Saharan Africa. CDC is the UK’s development finance organisation with DFID as its only shareholder.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he expects part two of the Leveson Inquiry to take place; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government has been clear that a decision on whether to undertake Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry will not take place until after all criminal investigations and trials related to Part 1 are concluded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help the social housing sector maintain and increase the provision of specialist accessible and adapted housing stock for people with disabilities.
Brandon Lewis
The Government provides direct funding for specialised housing for older and disabled people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund and the Affordable Homes Programme, making available up to £800 million for specialised housing for older, disabled, and vulnerable people over the next five years, which will deliver over 15,000 specialised homes.
The Government is also putting more money into the Disabled Facilities Grant to enable older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for longer. On top of the £1 billion the Government has invested in the grant since 2010, the grant will increase year on year for the next five years rising to over £500 million by 2020. In 2016-17 the Disabled Facilities Grant will grow to £394 million, a 79% increase on the current year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why nine trusts have not reported a figure for the number of patients waiting for treatment for more than a year even though the figures were available in their own board papers or commissioners’ boards’ papers.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting time statistics are designated as National Statistics. This means that the statistics are produced according to sound methods, and are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.
From time to time, for example when there are serious problems with patient administration systems, National Health Service trusts do need to temporarily suspend submissions of data for inclusion in the publication of National Statistics for reasons of data quality and completeness. Nine acute trusts did not submit data on referral to treatment waiting times for January 2016. For this reason, the published data on the number of patients waiting more than a year to start consultant-led treatment for non-urgent conditions may be understated. NHS Improvement is working intensively with these trusts so that they can begin submitting data again as quickly as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons an annual report on the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy was not published in 2015.
Jane Ellison
The UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy (2013-2018) annual progress report, 2015, was delayed to give the Report a stronger ‘one health’ perspective and to better reflect progress across the four nations, which required additional analytical work. We hope to publish the report shortly.
The Department has just commissioned an independent scoping study to inform the evaluation of the current strategy which will inform any future strategy document.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase exports.
Harriett Baldwin
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer given in response to the member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun question on 7 June in Oral questions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued to combined authorities on ensuring that they establish adequate audit and governance arrangements.
Andrew Percy
Both the primary legislation, and secondary legislation applicable to each combined authority which establish combined authorities, provide for their governance arrangements including requiring each combined authority to establish one or more overview and scrutiny committee and an audit committee. We also intend this autumn, subject to Parliamentary approval, to make an order making provision about how overview and scrutiny committees and audit committee must be operated; in addition we are able to issue statutory guidance on these matters and we will consider whether any such guidance is needed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of rogue landlords in (a) England and (b) each local authority area in England.
Gavin Barwell
The department does not hold this information. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a package of measures to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords. This includes a database of rogue landlords and property agents who have been convicted of a banning order offence or have received at least two civil penalties for housing relates offences.The database, which will be accessible to local authorities and DCLG, is expected to go live on 1 October 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what concerns he raised in his letter of 17 August 2015 to his Ethiopian counterpart on the release of videos of Andargachew Tsege in custody.
James Duddridge
The Government remains deeply concerned by the continued detention of Mr Andargachew Tsege. Extensive Ministerial lobbying resulted in Mr Tsege’s transfer to a normal federal prison in July. The Prime Minister wrote to the Ethiopian Prime Minister on 17 August welcoming this move, emphasising that this should allow regular consular access, and visits by Mr Tsege’s family. The release of video footage of Mr Tsege in July 2014 and January 2015 was not raised in the letter. We continue to press the Ethiopian government for regular consular access, for improvements to Mr Tsege’s welfare and to provide a legal process through which Mr Tsege can challenge his detention, including its consistency with domestic and international law. My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, has raised this case on 17 separate occasions with the Ethiopians.