The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy to ensure that Type 45 ships will be repaired and fully operational in order to support the planned new aircraft carrier.
Harriett Baldwin
All Type 45 Destroyers remain in a planned operational cycle and continue to be routinely deployed. Included in this will be periods when they are undergoing repair.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Benyon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made towards the targets for protecting peat set out in the Natural Environment White Paper of 2011 since the publication of the last implementation update report in October 2014.
Rory Stewart
Defra is currently carrying out a review of progress towards the targets for peat reduction in horticulture set out in the Natural Environment White Paper. Based on sales data from 2014, there has been a 24% reduction in peat sales for horticultural use in the UK since 2011.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress he has made on reducing the proportion of 16 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training.
Nick Boles
Figures for those not in education, employment or training (NEET) have fallen to a record low. The proportion of 16 to 24 year olds NEET in England between July and September has fallen compared to the same period last year. These figures show the excellent progress that is being made in providing opportunities for young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of services provided by housing associations to tenants since 2013.
Brandon Lewis
As independent providers of social housing, it is for housing associations to decide on the level of services they wish to provide to their tenants.
Housing associations are regulated by the Social Housing Regulator against its standards framework; where there are issues of non-compliance with the regulatory standards the Regulator has powers to intervene.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will maintain the level of funding of the Charity Research Support Fund in real terms over the next five years.
Joseph Johnson
The Government has protected the science budget in real terms to the end of the Parliament. Our intention is to formally allocate budgets to individual funding bodies in the coming weeks. The Government recognises the significant contribution made by charitable funders of research, which the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), has reflected through the charity support element of Quality Related research funding. Decisions by HEFCE on any funding beyond 2015-16 will be taken once they have received their annual Grant Letter which, sets out their funding allocations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what additional training provision and schemes his Department plans to put in place to support job losses arising as a consequence of the national living wage.
Nick Boles
The 2015 spending review made provision for a major expansion of adult further education, to increase employment and productivity levels.
The Government has maintained funding for the core adult skills participation budgets in cash terms at £1.5bn and is also increasing opportunities in technical and professional education by doubling the level of spending on apprenticeships by 2019-20 in 2010-11 cash terms, including income from the new apprenticeship levy. It will be almost £900 million higher in 2019-20 than in 2015-16. By 2019-20, spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5 billion.
The combination of the levy, the protection of the AEB, the extension of advanced learner loans, and the introduction of the youth obligation means that by the end of the Parliament, the cash value of core adult FE funding to support participation will be at its highest ever. The total spending power of the FE sector to support participation will be £3.41bn by 2019-20, which is a cash terms increase of 40% compared with 2015-16 (real terms 30%).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2016 to Question 31103, what the average local authority expenditure for each looked after child was in each year from 2011 to 2015.
Edward Timpson
Local authority funding for the provision of children’s services, including fostering services, is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, local authorities are required to submit annual budget and outturn statements about their actual spending to the Secretary of State for Education.
The total local authority expenditure on looked after children, based upon the section 251 outturn statements, is set out below for each financial year between 2011 – 2015.
Total local authority expenditure per looked after child per week is also set out. This is given by total expenditure in each financial year divided by the total number of looked after children at the 31 March of each year. This is then divided by the number of weeks in a year to give a weekly figure.
|
2011-12 (£000s) |
2012-13 (£000s) |
2013-14 (£000s) |
2014-15 (£000s) |
|
|
Looked After Children Spending |
£3,383,664 |
£3,495,626 |
£3,661,327 |
£3,768,523 |
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
|
Spending per Looked after Child per week |
£880 |
£985 |
£1,020 |
£1,040 |
Source: Section 251 outturn statements and SSDA903
Note: Unit costs rounded to the neared £5.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-05-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax avoidance cases have been submitted by HM Revenue and Customs to the General Anti-Abuse Rule Advisory Panel in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016 to date.
Mr David Gauke
The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) was introduced in July 2013, and only applies to abusive tax arrangements entered into from this date.
This means that it will first apply to income tax returns for the tax year ending 5 April 2014, which must have been filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January 2015.
For cases to be tackled by the GAAR, HMRC must first enquire into tax returns once they are received, and gather all relevant facts. It is therefore still early in the process of litigation action for cases to be tackled by the GAAR.
The GAAR Advisory Panel is an external body separate to HMRC. Their independent role means that they do not report the number of meetings held to HMRC.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of alcohol consumption on levels of obesity; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The last Government’s “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England”, October 2011 states that alcoholic drinks can be high in calories and contribute to the energy imbalance that can lead to being overweight and obesity.
We welcome the fact that some businesses are choosing to label calories voluntarily on their alcoholic beverages.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcome has been of his Department’s efforts to secure a lawyer for Andargachew Tsege; and what other steps his Department plans to take to ensure the release of Mr Tsege.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
On 1 June 2016, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam assured the then Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), that Mr Tsege would be allowed access to independent legal advice to allow him to discuss options under the Ethiopian legal system. Since then, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart, Foreign Minister Tedros, on 3 occasions, most recently during the UN General Assembly in New York. Each time he has insisted that the Ethiopians follow through with their commitment to allow legal access. The British Government will continue to raise this issue until Mr Tsege is given access to independent legal advice. We do not interfere in the legal systems of other countries by challenging convictions, any more than we would accept interference in our judicial system. We will continue to keep our approach to this case under review.