The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of total spending on High Speed 2 has been on (a) wages and (b) performance bonuses.
Andrew Jones
From 2009-10 to 2015-16, the Government spent £1.4bn on the HS2 programme. The total payroll costs for HS2 Ltd permanent staff for the same period were £94.6m, out of which £113.5k was spent on performance related pay.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14774, what data his Department holds on the number of voluntary carers in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
We take voluntary in this context to mean informal unpaid carers – those volunteering to care in a formal capacity are not included in these statistics which are set out below.
Data on provision of unpaid care from the 2011 Census was published by Office of National Statistics (ONS) on 11 December 2012. This showed that there were 6.5 million carers in the United Kingdom.
On 15 February 2013, the ONS published an article with the results of further analysis of the data, which shows that the overall number of unpaid carers in England and Wales has grown by 600,000 since the 2001 Census (approximately 5.8 million people, representing just over 10% of the population).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with regard to fixed odds betting terminals, what steps are being taken to (a) ensure that the player protection measures introduced from April 2015 are effectively evaluated and (b) independently assess whether the £50 threshold for supervised play is set at an effective level.
Tracey Crouch
The Government, along with the Gambling Commission, is in the process of evaluating the effects of ending unsupervised stakes over £50 and I hope to publish the results early in the new year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is an expectation that an area with a population of over 400,000 should be served by a fully-equipped accident and emergency service.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The detailed configuration of services is a matter for local commissioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24277, how many Sea King (a) Mk3, (b) Mk3a, (c) Mk4 and (d) Mk5 aircraft are planned to be taken out of service in 2016; and what plans the Government has to replace those assets.
Mr Philip Dunne
A total of 32 Sea King aircraft are planned to be taken out of service during 2016:
10 Mk3
2 Mk3a
9 Mk4
11 Mk5
The Search and Rescue role provided by these Sea King helicopters is to be delivered by contractor-provided services. Other roles delivered by these aircraft will transition to the Merlin fleet operated by the Royal Navy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to publish the outcomes of the review of training for educational and clinical psychologists.
Edward Timpson
This review of clinical and educational psychology training arrangements has been agreed by myself and Ben Gummer, the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Quality at the Department of Health. The report will be published in spring 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains his policy that Learn Direct will take over the driving theory test contract from September 2016; what arrangements have been made between Learn Direct and the current contract holder to ensure a smooth handover; and what the total cost to the public purse was of the procurement process and associated fees.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and learndirect have concluded an exit from the contract for the provision of the UK Driving Theory Test, which was due to transfer to learndirect in September 2016. Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd (formally Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd) will therefore continue to provide the service for some time.
The cost of running the procurement process was reported to have been £510,380. This covers pay costs of £350,865 and £159,515 non-pay costs, which consists primarily of professional fees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of employment and support allowance (ESA) applicants from Brighton and Hove are being sent to (a) Lewes and (b) Vauxhall for assessment; for what reasons such ESA applicants are being sent to those locations; what impact assessment has been made of sending ESA applicants to centres out of their home city; when and how applicants are remunerated for transport costs; and if he will make a statement.
Priti Patel
All Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) customers within the Brighton and Hove postcode areas are being asked to attend for an assessment at Lewes Assessment Centre as Lewes is the nearest Assessment Centre to Brighton and Hove.
DWP policy ensures that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) for a consultation. However, this limit is an absolute maximum and for the majority of claimants their journey will be less than this. For example, it would take applicants from Brighton and Hove approximately 20-30 minutes by bus to reach Lewes Assessment centre.
All claimants who are asked to travel to an assessment are reimbursed either by cheque or directly into a bank account via BACS.
If an ESA customer is unable to attend an appointment, they are asked to contact the provider to discuss their individual circumstances. A home visit can be arranged if there is supportive medical evidence about the claimant’s inability to travel due to their medical condition.
ESA claimants are not asked to travel to the Assessment Centre at Vauxhall which is specifically for claimants of Personal Independence Payment and not ESA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to enable people who have previously undertaken university education to be eligible for funded apprenticeships.
Nick Boles
Currently the apprenticeship funding rules allow a university graduate to take an apprenticeship standard at a higher level than their current qualification. Further detail on the proposed funding rules that will apply from 2017-18 will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 43629, what plans he has to review the aspects of the BIS 2020 programme that do not relate to staff posts and office locations in the light of the restructuring of government departments.
Joseph Johnson
As part of the recent Machinery of Government changes, over the coming months we will be considering how to bring together the reform agendas of BEIS’s two predecessor Departments.