The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-03-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will arrange for HM Revenue and Customs to acknowledge or reply to the letter of 24 February 2016 from the hon. Member for Walsall North concerning a constituent.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 14 March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many current advertised vacancies there are in local authority educational psychology services.
Edward Timpson
The Department does not collect information on the current advertised vacancies in local educational psychology service. This information is collected by an external organisation, the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP).
The AEP are the main advertiser of educational psychology posts in England and send us their figures, on a monthly basis. This information is broken down by the total number of educational psychology posts being advertised in the private and public sector. These figures could include other areas of the public sector that employ the profession such as schools and NHS services, as well as local educational psychology services, so we are unable to provide this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of paramedics employed by the London Ambulance Service.
Ben Gummer
We are advised by London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) that during 2015/16 it recruited 717 frontline staff. In doing so, LAS achieved its recruitment target and filled all its available frontline posts.
We understand that LAS has put in place a number of measures to help it support and retain staff. These measures include updating the vehicle fleet and re-launching the trust’s learning and development function. LAS has also established a new clinical team leader role, with 50% of the role devoted to supporting staff.
Demand on the service has increased significantly over the past five years. During March 2016, demand was the highest on record for patients with serious and life threatening illnesses. LAS continues to work to improve services for patients by focusing on reducing demand, recruiting more staff and supporting staff to work more efficiently.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will request that Heathrow Airport complies with all the conditions set out by the Airports Commission in its final report, published in July 2015, before making an announcement on airport expansion in the UK.
Mr John Hayes
A number of important decisions on airport capacity were taken by the Government in December 2015, including to accept the case for expansion in the South-East and the three schemes shortlisted by the Airports Commission. However, we must take the time to get the decision right on a preferred scheme.
The Government believes it is essential that expansion via any of the shortlisted schemes is accompanied by a strong package of measures to mitigate the impacts on communities and the environment, and will set out any requirements in this area on a preferred scheme promoter in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent meetings he has had with representatives from (a) Iceland, (b) Liechtenstein, (c) Norway and (d) Switzerland on trade with EFTA countries.
Greg Hands
Ministers and officials in the Department for International Trade are working closely with counterparts across a wide range of countries and markets, in order to promote the UK as a great place to do business and with which to trade. We are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to us to ensure that Britain becomes the global leader in free trade once we leave the EU.
Most recently, the Minister for Trade Policy met his counterpart trade minister during a visit to Switzerland. My Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has also had a productive discussion with the Norwegian Minister for Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of in-work households in receipt of tax credits with an underlying entitlement to Working Tax Credit in each of the last five tax years had not had a claim with an underlying entitlement to Working Tax Credit in the preceding tax year.
Damian Hinds
The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to meet demand for school places in Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough.
Mr Sam Gyimah
As announced at the Spending Review, the Government is investing £23 billion in school buildings to create 600,000 new school places, opening 500 new free schools and addressing essential maintenance needs. This commitment reflects our bold ambitions for education and provides a firm basis from which to deliver our goal of securing educational excellence in every corner of the country.
Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them to do so is one of this Government’s top priorities. We allocate basic need funding to local authorities to help create new school places where they are needed. Leeds has been allocated £73 million of basic need funding for the period 2015-18. Leeds also received £99 million between 2011 and 2015, helping to create 8,800 new school places between 2010 and 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has contacted the Saudi Arabian government on the human rights element in the case of Waleed Abu al-Khair.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are very concerned about the case of Waleed Abu Al-Khair and we have raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities. Our Ambassador in Riyadh, as well as our Embassy team, continues to make representations on cases like this on a regular basis.
The UK’s position on human rights in Saudi Arabia is a matter of public record. We frequently raise our human rights concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with (a) ministers in the Scottish Government and (b) women’s organisations on devolving competence for abortion legislation to Scotland.
David Mundell
I have regular discussions with the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister on all aspects of our implementation of the Smith Commission Agreement, including the devolution of responsibility for abortion law to the Scottish Parliament. UK and Scottish Government officials will continue to work closely on this issue.
I have had discussions with representatives of women’s organisations on this matter. However, with the transfer of responsibility to the Scottish Parliament, it is primarily for the Scottish Government to take forward engagement with interested parties. Scottish Government Ministers have met with representatives of a number of stakeholder organisations to discuss the devolution of abortion law and the delivery of abortion services in Scotland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Prime Minister, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in 10 Downing Street.
Mr David Cameron
A list of special advisers, and their pay bands, is published on an annual basis.