The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what comparative assessment he has made of labour productivity in the South West and England.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Bellingham on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the security situation in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The threat from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism is severe.
It is being suppressed by the hard work of PSNI and MI5. Because of their efforts, the number of national security attacks has fallen from 40 in 2010 to 16 in 2015. But the need for total vigilance remains and will continue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what profit has been made by the three contractors and sub-contractors under the provision of contracts for asylum accommodation since the contract with Compass began in 2012-13.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office is unable to release details of the profit / loss made against specific contracts as this information is commercially sensitive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 28 January (HL5591) concerning the Belfast Agreement 1998, why they have not answered the question, and whether the Belfast Agreement applies to members of the British Security Forces.
Lord Dunlop
My previous replies to the Noble Lord on questions about the application of the Belfast Agreement to specific groups explain that the Agreement, with its three-stranded approach, paved the way for power sharing in Northern Ireland and provides the basis for devolved government there. The three-stranded approach is:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to paragraph 1.59 of the Budget 2016, from which projects and programmes the £650 million reduction in Official Development Assistance will come.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The £650 million reduction to the ODA budget will be from DFID’s baseline budget. DFID’s baseline budget includes transfers to other government departments and funds. Decisions on the allocation of reductions will be taken on the basis of the impact of expenditure and strategic fit with government objectives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23836, on railways: franchises, on which franchises the partnership referred to in that Answer has provided advice to him in relation to his duties under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993; and whether his Department has carried out mobilisation work on any franchises under Section 30 since the contract referred to in that Answer was signed.
Claire Perry
The partnership are contracted to provide advice to the Department on all rail franchises in relation to the Secretary of State’s duties under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993.
The partnership is also currently advising the Department on a mobilisation plan for the Cross Country franchise. This plan is being prepared on a contingency basis which will be implemented in the event that negotiations on a Direct Award to the current operator fail to reach a successful commercial conclusion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times he has visited West Cumberland Hospital in an official capacity in each of the last four years.
Ben Gummer
The Secretary of State for Health and his Ministerial team have not undertaken any visits in an official capacity to the West Cumberland Hospital in the last four years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to raise awareness among schools and head teachers of solutions they can choose to help children enjoy physical activity every day.
Nicola Blackwood
The County Sport Partnerships (CSPs) will continue to work with schools to raise awareness of local sport and physical activity opportunities. As announced in the recently published Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action, CSPs will now also be working with the National Governing Bodies of sport and other national and local providers, to ensure that every school in England has access to high quality sport and physical activity programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response, if any, they have made to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in the light of his comments that moves to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 would set a very bad example for the rest of the world.
Lord Faulks
The Government has made no formal response to these comments. The UK has a proud tradition of respect for human rights which long pre-dates the Human Rights Act 1998. Our Bill will protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore some common sense to the system. The Government will fully consult on our proposals before introducing legislation and we will set out our proposals in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the effect on the household income of an existing tax credit claimant family with two earners and two children in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20 of proposed changes to tax credits assuming they are migrated to universal credit at the start of 2018 and experience a change in circumstance and lose their transitional arrangements.
Priti Patel
At the summer budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the Government’s commitment to move the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.
UC is a fundamentally different benefit to the legacy benefit system and provides people with support into, and to progress in work.
Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with Universal Credit. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.