The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36373, which overseas territories and Crown dependencies have declined the invitation to attend the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.
Matthew Hancock
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether jet engine oils and hydraulic and de-icing fluids contain substances that attract harmonised and notified hazard classifications under the CPL Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008.
Lord Freud
Suppliers of jet engine oils, hydraulic and de-icing fluids are required to provide information on their products and on certain hazardous components under the direct-acting EU CLP Regulation. Some hazardous components/substances in these oils and fluids may attract harmonised hazard classifications under the CLP Regulation.
Information for users of these products about hazardous components/substances must be included in the safety data sheets required by the REACH Regulation ((EC) No 1907/2006) and, where appropriate, on the labels for these products before the products can be placed on the market in the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-09-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the qualifying criteria for servicemen to be considered as mobilised, and how mobilisation is recognised.
Earl Howe
The Reserve Forces are a valuable and highly valued component of the Armed Forces. Under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 the Secretary of State for Defence can authorise the mobilisation of Reserve Forces if it appears to him that it is necessary or desirable to use them to contribute to the delivery of the nation’s security. All reservists are liable for mobilisation. The maximum period for which a reservist may be mobilised is up to one year in a four year period.
We aim to provide at least 28 days notice of mobilisation. In selecting individuals for mobilisation we will, as far as practicable, take into account their personal circumstances, including employment. The flexibility in selecting individuals for mobilisation will depend on the scale, urgency and nature of the threat. Employers and reservists can appeal against a mobilisation.
When a reservist reports for military service, a medical inspection is carried out and their physical fitness is measured to ascertain their wellbeing and fitness to deploy. Training appropriate to the nature of the task will be given prior to deployment.
Once mobilised individuals are paid as regulars and receive relevant allowances. In addition, reservists and their employers are entitled to claim financial assistance which mitigates the financial impact of the mobilisation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what powers are available to local authorities to restrict the use of fireworks.
Anna Soubry
Restrictions on the use of fireworks already exist under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and are enforced by the police. Beyond this, excessive noise from fireworks can be considered a statutory nuisance under Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Act gives local authorities powers to prevent or abate noise nuisance coming from premises and land.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Ministers have made to their counterparts abroad or to their diplomatic representatives in the UK on the practice of consuming and selling dog meat for consumption subsequent to the debate in the House on the dog meat trade of 5 November 2015.
Mr Hugo Swire
Since the debate on 5 November my Department has not received any representations from any diplomatic missions in the UK on the dog meat trade, nor have Ministers made representations to their counterparts abroad. As highlighted during the debate by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), I am contacting our Ambassadors in the countries concerned to review our activities in this area.
The Government is committed to raising the standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. I raised animal welfare issues during my visit to the region in February and will continue to make representations when appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to launch its planned consultation on increasing the transparency of property ownership by foreign companies.
Matthew Hancock
In due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk posed to children by domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.
Karen Bradley
Data showing the total number of women who have suffered domestic abuse in the last five years is set out in the Crime Statistics published on 11 February 2016: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences–2014-to-2015/index.html.
Since the 2004/05 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), the number of women aged 16 to 59 experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year has reduced from 1.71 million to 1.35 million (360,000 fewer victims and a fall of 21%) and the estimate of the number of women experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year is the lowest since the survey began.
Latest data published by the Office for National Statistics from the 2014/15 CSEW additionally show that in 46% of cases of partner abuse, a child was present in the household, of which 20% of children saw or heard the abuse.
Data on children referred to and assessed by local authority children’s social services in England in 2014/15 show that there were 197,700 assessments where domestic violence was identified as a relevant factor. This data is only available for 2014/15.
The Government works closely with charities, academics and statutory agencies to assess and address the impact of domestic abuse on children and wholly recognises the life changing impact domestic abuse can have on the lives of children. That is why we have expanded the Troubled Families Programme for a further five years (2015-2020) to work with an additional 400,000 families, including those affected by domestic abuse.
To further address the impact of domestic abuse on victims and their children, we have introduced a new domestic abuse offence to tackle coercive and controlling behaviour, and in England and Wales we have rolled out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. Improvements have been made to the police response to domestic abuse, and we are supporting multi-agency working which takes a whole family approach.
We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to support victims and their children. The Government has already announced £40 million of funding for domestic abuse services between 2016 and 2020, as well as a £2 million grant to Women’s Aid and Safelives to support early intervention programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-04.
To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the proposed changes to the Landfill Communities Fund on the restoration and repair of listed church properties and church buildings.
Mrs Caroline Spelman
The Church of England has engaged with the recent consultation from the Treasury over the future of the Landfill Communities Fund. Local churches are able to apply to the fund to support restoration, extension and repair projects.
Local parishes have benefitted from this generosity since its creation in 1996. Over its lifetime the scheme has enabled churches across the country to benefit from an approximate £75 million worth of repairs. As part of its submission the Church of England asked the Treasury to consider reducing the administrative burdens on applicants to the fund.
The Church has since received assurances that the scheme will continue and we await with interest further detailed announcements from the Treasury regarding the operation of the fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) demographic factors, (b) deprivation level factors and (c) factors of difference in distance from target market forces he took into account when determining the funding allocated for (i) Vale of York CCG, (ii) NHS West Cheshire, (iii) NHS North East Essex, (iv) NHS South Warwickshire, (v) NHS Canterbury and Coastal, (vi) NHS Lincolnshire West and (vii) NHE East Riding of Yorkshire.
Alistair Burt
Responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations rests with NHS England and the funding allocated to all CCGs is based on the CCG allocations formula. This is based on advice provided by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA). ACRA is an independent committee and reports jointly to the Secretary of State for Health (in regard to public health allocations) and NHS England in regard to CCG and primary care allocations. The formula was initially approved by NHS England in 2013 and they have now reviewed and updated the formula for 2016-17 onwards.
The formula is based on the size of the population of each CCG and adjustments, or weights, per head for relative need for health care services and unavoidable costs between CCGs. The weights per head are based on the following:
― need due to age (typically, the more elderly the population, the higher the need per head, all else being equal);
― additional need over and above that due to age (this includes measures of health status and a number of proxies for health status such as deprivation);
― an adjustment for unmet need and health inequalities;
― unavoidable higher costs of delivering health care due to location alone, known as the Market Forces Factor (this reflects that staff, land and building costs are higher in for example London than other parts of the country); and
― an adjustment for the higher costs of providing emergency ambulance services in sparsely populated areas, and an adjustment for the higher costs of unavoidably small hospitals with 24 hour accident and emergency services in remote areas.
The final step of the allocations process is to determine how quickly to move CCGs from their current allocation to the target allocation determined by the formula. The objective is to reduce the ‘distance from target’ so that areas furthest below their target allocation receive the biggest increases. This needs to balance against the need to ensure service stability for those areas above target, and that increases are not so large that resources are not used efficiently. The approach also takes account of the distance from target in each area for primary care and specialised services so that the overall funding position for the area is taken into account.
NHS England recently published a technical guide to allocations which sets out all the individual factors used in determining the allocation levels. The guide is available here:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2016/04/allocations-tech-guide-16-17/#
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of what the likely change in the level of social housing stock will be if the proposed extension of right-to-buy to housing association properties is agreed in (a) Tottenham, (b) Enfield, (c) Haringey, (d) Barnet, (e) Islington and (f) London in (i) 2016 and (ii) each of the next three years.
Brandon Lewis
Under the voluntary agreement with the National Housing Federation and housing associations, every home sold to tenants will result in an additional affordable home being provided. At least two new affordable homes will be provided for each high value vacant property that is expected to be sold in London. This will lead to an increase in overall housing supply.