Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage house building on sites where planning permissions have been given for house building.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    We are keen to drive up delivery of new housing once permission has been granted and we are actively taking steps to tackle some of the factors which can delay a start to development. We are taking forward measures through the Neighbourhood Planning Bill, which was introduced on 7 September, to improve the use of planning conditions to avoid unnecessary delays to development. We have also, through the Housing and Planning Act 2016, introduced a provision for a section 106 dispute resolution process. This will assist in speeding up negotiations on the content of section 106 planning obligations, where developers and local authorities have failed to reach an agreement. Secondary legislation is required to implement the provision. We also expect the members of the Home Builders Federation to adhere to their commitments in May to provide local authorities with transparent annual returns on build-out rates. And we will be setting out further measures in the forthcoming Housing White Paper.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of (a) changes in the number of cases of, and deaths from pneumococcal disease (b) the number of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) vaccinations given each year and (c) the cost of delivering that programme of vaccinations on an annual basis since the introduction of PCV in 2006.

    Jane Ellison

    The total number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and case fatality ratios (CFR) since 2006 are shown in table 1.

    Table 1. Total cases of IPD and case fatality ratios (CFR).

    Year

    Total cases1

    CFR2 (%)

    2004/05

    6,175

    not available

    2005/06

    6,250

    not available

    2006/07

    5,419

    not available

    2007/08

    5,481

    not available

    2008/09

    5,569

    not available

    2009/10

    5,203

    13.4

    2010/11

    5,265

    13.6

    2011/12

    4,396

    13.7

    2012/13

    4,477

    13.1

    2013/14

    4,032

    11.9

    1Total cases of laboratory confirmed IPD, England and Wales (excluding cases only confirmed by DNA detection and bronchiolar alveolar lavage (BAL) samples).

    2Proportion of cases of IPD that were found to have died within seven days of IPD onset (excluding BAL) ascertained by tracing GP registration records. Data on CFR prior to 2009 are not available.

    The current PCV offered to infants helps protect against 13 of the 95 known pneumococcal serotypes. The incidence of IPD caused by these serotypes has fallen by 90% in children younger than five years since the introduction in 2005 of PCV in the childhood immunisation programme. The vast majority of IPD cases in this age group are now due to non-vaccine pneumococcal serotypes. In addition, although the vaccine is only given to infants and young children, IPD due to the vaccine serotypes has declined in older children and adults through herd protection. Consequently, there has been a 36% decrease in the number of IPD cases across all age groups between 2005/06 (6,250 IPD cases) and 2013/14 (4,032 IPD cases) in England and Wales (Table 1) because of the infant immunisation programme.

    Pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV) was introduced in September 2006, with a catch-up campaign for children up to two years of age. The number PCV vaccinations given each year are shown in table 2.

    Table 2. The number of children at 12 months of age vaccinated with primary PCV, and the number of children at 24 years of age who have completed the PCV schedule, by year, in England.

    Financial year

    No. children 12 months vaccinated with primary PCV

    No. children 24 months vaccinated with completed PCV

    2006/07 (Q3&4 only)

    24,823

    51,648

    2007/08

    430,518

    350,049

    2008/09

    570,912

    487,209

    2009/10

    599,786

    561,106

    2010/11

    618,525

    582,614

    2011/12

    641,645

    615,203

    2012/13

    651,933

    636,591

    2013/14

    640,971

    642,023

    2014/15

    617,263

    633,698

    The complete course comprises three doses of PCV vaccine: these are given at two months and four months (the primary doses), and a booster dose at 12-13 months.

    In 2014/15 the NHS incurred approximately £9 million delivering completed courses of PCV and Haemophilus influenzae type b / meningococcal C (Hib/MenC) vaccination. Costs in 2013/14 would have been similar. NHS England does not have details of delivery costs prior to 2013/14. This figure does not include the cost of the vaccine, which is procured centrally by PHE, and is commercially confidential.

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what transitional arrangements are in place for women affected by the planned increase in the retirement age for state pension recipients.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 November 2015 to Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North), Question UIN 15476

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to extend railway network services between London and Okehampton.

    Claire Perry

    We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the South West has the best infrastructure possible and we are determined to do everything possible to stop damage like we saw in 2014 happening again. That is why we have invested £31 million into improving the resilience of rail routes in the South West, and Network Rail spent £40 million on repairing and strengthening the line at Dawlish after the extreme weather.

    We are working with the rail industry and the Peninsula Rail Task Force as they explore the potential for longer-term improvements in the area, including the premise of additional routes to the current mainline route via Dawlish.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24112, if he will make an assessment of responsibility for damage to cultural property in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost was of the Youth Justice Board monitoring carried out at each secure training centre in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Andrew Selous

    A total annual cost of the Youth Justice Board’s (YJB) monitoring of each Secure Training Centre provided by the YJB is not held centrally.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average distance is travelled by residents of Hove for face-to-face personal independence payment assessments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Atos Healthcare does not hold or retain information about customer journey times to attend assessments. Should a customer foresee a problem with travelling to their assessment they are asked to contact Atos to discuss their circumstances.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support the Government is providing to remote rural communities on obtaining reliable access to broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Public investment in improving broadband is nearly £1.7 billion, including £790 million of UK government funding, to bring superfast broadband to areas of the UK where it would not otherwise be available. Superfast broadband is now available to 90 per cent of UK premises and this will reach 95 per cent by December 2017.

    The Government has also implemented a basic broadband scheme to enable all premises to gain access to speeds of at least 2Mbps. This allows residents to gain access to every government service available online.

    Furthermore, in November 2015 the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to introduce a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) with the aim to provide a safety net for those homes and business in the hardest to reach parts of the UK without access to superfast broadband.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the DVLA on waiting times for HGV driving licence renewal; what the (a) rate of renewals, (b) number of new applications, (c) total number of renewals outstanding, (d) average waiting time from application to renewal and (e) number of staff processing renewals was for HGV driving licence renewals; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The table below shows the average waiting time for straightforward vocational licence renewals and the time taken to process the transaction from the day it is received at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The figures are the latest available and are for the period September 2015 to August 2016 and include applications and renewals of HGV and PSV (bus driving) entitlements.

    a) Rate of renewals:

    11,675 on average per month

    b) Number of new applications:

    5,126 on average per month

    c) Total number of renewal outstanding:

    Approximately 8,000 on 5 September 2016

    d) Average waiting time from application to renewal:

    The average waiting time from application to renewal is 1.5 working days. September 2015 – August 2016, 99% of straightforward applications were processed within three days of receipt. Applications that are more complex or where there is a medical condition involved take longer to investigate before a licensing decision can be made.

    e) Number of staff processing HGV driving licence renewals:

    120 staff members work on all types of vocational transactions. This includes both HGV and bus driving licence renewals.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost by UK investors as a result of Providence Bonds and Providence Bonds II being placed in administration in September 2016.

    Simon Kirby

    The government does not hold this information.