Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what penalties there are for London airports which breach the noise quota count designated in the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There have been no breaches of the night noise quotas in the last 10 years. For the night period (23.30 to 06.00), there is a limit on the number of movements (an aircraft landing or taking off) and noise quotas (each aircraft is given a noise quota according to the noise produced) at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted for the summer and winter seasons.

    There are, and have been, no penalties for breaching the movement and noise quota limits. Details on these limits are set out in the London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted Airports Noise Restrictions Notices.

  • Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they were consulted on the EU–Turkey deal that will allow Turkish citizens visa-free access to the Schengen area and which provided for three billion euros of aid to Turkey over two years.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK played an influential role in shaping the EU-Turkey summit on 29 November where these issues were discussed. The Prime Minister, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), attended the summit, where the EU and Turkey agreed to step up cooperation on the many common issues that we face. We welcomed the clear message the summit sent of the importance the EU attaches to its wide-ranging partnership with Turkey. Turkey is a key partner in the EU’s response to the migration crisis and we commend its generosity in ably hosting over 2.2 million refugees from the crisis in Syria and Iraq. A funding package of €3 billion will help ease the refugee burden on Turkey whilst preventing further uncontrolled migration to the EU. Any progress in Turkey’s visa-liberalisation roadmap will not directly affect the UK as we do not participate in the immigration and border aspects of the Schengen acquis.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19817, for what reasons his Department does not produce estimates of the proportion of people who will be unable to afford to rent or buy a home in London in 2016.

    Brandon Lewis

    The proportion of people who are able to afford to rent or buy a home at a point in time is a function of macroeconomic and a number of other factors around which there is a high degree of uncertainty. As such, we do not believe such an assessment would prove to be reliable.

    The Department publishes data on housing costs and income as part of the English Housing Survey. The latest survey, for 2013-14, shows that in England the proportion of income spent on housing costs was 18% for mortgagers, 29% for social renters, and 34% for private renters. The full report is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/461439/EHS_Households_2013-14.pdf

    In respect of housing need in London, it is for the Mayor of London, working with London Boroughs, to identify and plan for the market and affordable housing needs in London.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date the (a) Cycle Proofing Working Group and (b) Cycling Health sub-group last met.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Cycle Proofing Working Group met on 14 January 2016. The Department for Transport does not have a Cycling Health sub-group.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU migrants left the UK because they had been on job seeker’s allowance for three months and had not found a job in the last year.

    James Brokenshire

    We do not hold the information requested on EU nationals who have departed. We only hold data on EU nationals who have left following immigration enforcement action.

    We have been clear that EU job seekers will not be supported by UK taxpayers, and can be removed if they have not found work within six months. In addition, the new EU settlement negotiated by the Prime Minster confirms that we do not have to pay Universal Credit to EU nationals who come to the UK as job seekers.

    From January 2014 to December 2015, we have served over 6,000 administrative removal papers to EEA nationals for a variety of free movement abuses, from non-exercise of Treaty Rights to participation in sham marriages, (2,635 papers were served in 2014, and 3,480 in 2015).

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what modelling she has conducted to assess the likelihood of the emergency brake mechanism to control immigration from the rest of the EU into the UK being utilised in the next five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The European Commission has clearly said that the UK already meets the criteria for the implementation of the ‘emergency brake’ and the text of the agreement makes clear that, once the necessary legislation is in place, EU workers newly arriving in the UK will not have full access to our in-work benefits for up to four years.

    The Home Office accepted the view of the independent Migration Advisory Committee that to produce such estimates "would not be sensible, or helpful to policymakers" and did not prepare specific forecasts of likely inflows from Romania and Bulgaria once restrictions expired on 1 January 2014. There are no plans to undertake a review of this decision.

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

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many students currently receive the NHS bursary in (a) England and (b) Manchester, Withington constituency.

    Ben Gummer

    The latest available figures provided by the NHS Business Services Authority show that there were 99,549 students attending a university in England who received an NHS Bursary payment in the financial year 2014/15. Of the students receiving an NHS Bursary payment, 48 provided their current address with a postcode in the Withington constituency of Greater Manchester.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities will be affected by the sale of higher value council homes under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

    Brandon Lewis

    The requirement to make a payment in respect of higher value vacant housing and to consider selling such housing applies to local authorities with a Housing Revenue Account. The scheme will therefore affect any such authorities who hold housing which falls within the definition of "higher value". That definition will be set out in regulations which are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. In addition Government has the power to exclude types of housing from the policy through regulations.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to restore compensation for war widows who remarried between 1973 and 2005.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Government remains sympathetic to the circumstances of those affected. We are reviewing the position, but need to take account of the wider consequences for other public sector schemes of making retrospective changes.

  • Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on tackling benefit fraud and error in each of the last five financial years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Fraud and error is tackled within a number of areas across the Department. Specifically, the Fraud, Error and Debt Programme which commenced in June 2013 and delivers major change projects.

    Spending on the Fraud, Error and Debt Programme for the 5 years between 2010/11 and 2014/15 was £300m, delivering savings of circa £2bn. Further savings in the region of £2.9bn are expected by the end of 2021- 2022.

    In addition the Fraud and Error Service is a specialist organisation focused on identifying and correcting benefit fraud and the many Operational teams across the Department also play a critical role in preventing fraud and error occurring. The Department also provides financial incentives to Local Authorities with regard to identifying fresh initiatives to support the reduction of fraud and error in housing benefit.

    To provide a breakdown of how much the Department spent in aggregate on tackling benefit fraud and error in the last five years would incur disproportionate costs and we have therefore not provided a breakdown.