The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to develop specific long-term targets to protect the public from the health impacts of aircraft noise.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Health impacts associated with aviation noise are already factored into policy appraisal where there is relevant robust evidence, including monetisation of these costs where this is possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he was made aware of HM Revenue and Customs’ original estimate of tax due by Google prior to the recent tax settlement with that company.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for the conduct of tax enquiries, and Ministers are not informed of the progress of enquiries and play no part in agreeing the amount of tax to be paid by any taxpayer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further steps he plans to take to improve road safety.
Andrew Jones
Britain has some of the world’s lowest road casualty rates. But, in line with our Manifesto commitment, we are determined to do more to make our roads even safer. The British Road Safety Statement, published on 21 December 2015, sets out the government’s priorities for action, including practical measures to help vulnerable groups stay safe on our roads, extra money to crackdown on drug drivers and tougher penalties for people using mobile phones while driving.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Minister for Social Care’s oral contribution of 3 December 2015, Official Report, column 608, what progress his Department has made on putting in place a national ambition to reduce the number of adults sent out-of-area for acute inpatient mental health care.
Alistair Burt
In-line with the recommendations of the Independent Mental Health Taskforce published in February 2016, we have set a national ambition to eliminate inappropriate out of area treatments for adult acute inpatient care as a result of local acute bed pressures by 2020/21 at the latest. To achieve this ambition we expect areas to put in place local action plans and achieve year on year reductions from 2016/17.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures she plans to take to support further education students with additional travel costs arising from mergers of institutions as a result of area reviews of post-16 education.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Area reviews of post-16 education are focused on meeting the needs of learners in each area, and because they are overseen by steering groups including Chairs and Principals of colleges as well as local authorities, they are well placed to do this. The steering group’s discussions and recommendations are based on the best available evidence, including an analysis of local economic and educational needs and the mapping of current curriculum provision and travel to learn patterns. Recommendations made by the steering group, including mergers, should improve access to better quality teaching delivered by sustainable institutions focused on meeting learner need.
Local authorities are members of area review steering groups and have statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds. We expect local authorities to make reasonable decisions about the support they offer based on the needs of their young people, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available. Authorities will need to take account of the recommendations arising from each area review and the impact on transport for learners. We will reflect this in the next version of the post-16 transport statutory guidance which we plan to update in the autumn.
Most young people already have access to some kind of discount or concession on bus or train travel, either from their local authority, local transport providers, or from their school or college, and we would expect this to continue following any changes to post-16 provision as a result of area reviews. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund will continue to be available to support those young people who most need it, with the costs of attending post-16 education or training such as transport and meals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-06-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Public Health England’s Strategic plan for the next four years: better outcomes by 2020, what plans they have to consider the sexual and reproductive health workforce as part of any new public health workforce strategy.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England is working with the Department and other key stakeholders to develop a new public health workforce strategy that considers the needs of the whole public health workforce.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2016-09-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training staff at Tinsley House have received to ensure that they are able to work with children.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The training requirements for Home Office, custodial service provider and NHS England staff at Tinsley House pre-departure accommodation are equivalent to those for Cedars.
As set out in Detention Services Order 19/2012 ‘Detention and Escorting Safeguarding Children policy’, updated in May 2016, all staff working with children receive suitable training, which must be at least equivalent to Tier 1 of the Home Office ‘Keeping Children Safe’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning applications for the erection of telephone masts have been rejected by local authorities in (a) the UK, (b) Cheshire and (c) Eddisbury constituency in the last 12 months.
Brandon Lewis
This information is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Environment Agency’s 2014 Long Term Investment Scenarios recommended optimum overall investment in flood defences of £750m to £800m each year to 2019-20; and whether she expects that level of overall investment to be achieved.
Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency’s Long Term Investment Scenarios report represents the best currently available projections of potential long term costs to manage flood and coastal risk under a range of scenarios reflecting future uncertainties. It will be kept under review as any further evidence emerges.
The report confirms that current Government investment plans to 2020, together with forecast local contributions, are in line with the level the Environment Agency’s assessment indicates is necessary to reduce overall flood risk by 5%.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the total annual saving to the public purse has been of the closure of the Hull office of the Insolvency Service.
Anna Soubry
The decision to close the Hull office, with effect from 14 November 2014, was based on savings with a Net Present Value of £289,000 over 5 years. The profile of savings is such that they will mainly be realised towards the end of that period. Current information is that we are on course to achieve these savings.