The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect of reductions in tax credits on levels of housing benefit paid out in 2016-17.
Damian Hinds
The impact of all the government’s policies on housing benefit is accounted for in the housing benefit forecast, which has been certified by the OBR.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on ensuring that when insurance companies issue annual renewal notices for policies they also issue a clear reference to the premium paid 12 months previously.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations and have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
As has been the practice adopted by previous Administrations it is not Government policy to normally release details of such meetings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his Answer of 13 October 2015 to Question 11722, which companies provide fixed broadband services in the UK.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Any company that complies with Ofcom’s General Conditions Entitlement has authorisation to provide telecommunications services in the UK. This Department does not hold a comprehensive list of companies that provide fixed broadband services in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to transfer powers over the raising and spending of public finances from the government of Anguilla to the Government.
James Duddridge
There are no plans to remove the power of the Government of Anguilla to tax and spend. In circumstances where an Overseas Territory is in breach of its legal limits for debt, or where the UK taxpayer may be called upon to provide support, it is the established convention that reasonable assurance measures are put in place so that financial obligations continue to be met and public finances remain sustainable. The Government of Anguilla faces considerable challenges in maintaining sound public finances along with support for economic growth and the financial sector. We look forward to receiving the Government of Anguilla’s robust and credible plans, and to discussing these with them. The UK Government will continue to work in partnership with the Government of Anguilla to help ensure the long term financial security of the people of Anguilla. We also continue to keep open our offer to provide further technical assistance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been diagnosed with lung cancer as a result of smoking in each of the last five years.
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 Paul Flynn on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have died as a result of a heroin overdose in each of the last 15 years.
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 Stephen Gethins on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, in what way her Department is supporting the work of the Church of Scotland in South Sudan.
Grant Shapps
Whilst our DFID programme has not directly engaged with the Church of Scotland, the UK does support faith-led reconciliation efforts in South Sudan. We fund two projects that, through our implementing partners the Catholic Relief Services and the UN Development Programme, work closely with the South Sudan Peace and Reconciliation Commission (SSPRC). The SSPRC plays an important role in coordinating a wide range of stakeholders to discuss and shape peace related actions within South Sudan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents involving aircraft there have been in the UK in each of the last five years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Statistics for aircraft accidents in the UK are kept by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is required to investigate events which come within the definition of accident contained in Article 1 of the EU Regulation 996/2010. AAIB also investigates "serious incidents" as defined by the Regulation.
The table below sets out the number of investigations that the AAIB has undertaken. These includes investigations into serious incidents involving commercial air transport aircraft for the sake of completeness.
|
Year |
No of AAIB Investigations Commenced |
|
2014 |
236 |
|
2013 |
245 |
|
2012 |
264 |
|
2011 |
251 |
|
2010 |
248 |
CAA statistics differ slightly as they are based on reports made under the mandatory occurrence reporting requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what orders were placed by (a) Network Rail and (b) Highways England for (i) steel manufactured by UK-based companies and (ii) all steel in 2014-15; and what tonnage was ordered at what cost in each such order.
Claire Perry
Network Rail advises that for its major use of steel it has a five year framework contract from April 2014 for the supply of new steel rails from Long Steels UK Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel. Network Rail is in close contact with Tata Steel to ensure continuity of supply.
Network Rail buys approximately 140,000 tonnes of steel rail per annum from Tata Steel, which equates to around 95% of total aggregated demand for Network Rail. This is supplied directly from Scunthorpe. Smaller contracts are also in place with Arcelor Mittal (Spain) and Voestalpine (Austria). These relate to the manufacture of very special steel products.
These volumes are broken down are as follows. The figures for 2015-16 are provisional:
|
Year |
Tata Supply (Tonnes) |
Tata Spend (£) |
|
2011-12 |
137,762.2408 |
97,715,813.91 |
|
2012-13 |
142,022.9286 |
100,210,560.98 |
|
2013-14 |
158,891.8490 |
107,201,303.99 |
|
2014-15 |
138,387.2325 |
90,832,520.93 |
|
2015-16 |
138,000 |
87,713,500.74 |
Highways England does not procure steel materials directly. Despite the changes in UK steel output over the last five years, Highways England and its predecessor have continued to invest heavily in UK steel. During this period Highways England has used a category management framework as the main method of procuring steel gantries for the Strategic Road Network. To date circa 95% of this steel has been drawn from Tata Steel in the UK, which equates to approximately 11,000 tonnes of steel. The approximate framework spend is £30 million, of which about 35% will be steel procurement i.e. raw materials, and will equate to around £10.5 million.
As rail freight is a wholly commercial business and therefore has to respond to market changes as part of its operational model, the Government does not itself undertake assessments of the impact on rail freight of variations in the flows of specific commodities. Network Rail’s Freight Market Study, published in 2013, assumed a small recovery in the steel market based on information available at that time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value is of outstanding benefit overpayments due to be recovered by his Department.
Justin Tomlinson
The latest preliminary figures for 2014/15 estimate Fraud and Error levels as £3.2 billion, or 1.9% of benefit expenditure. The net figure after recoveries is £2.3bn, or 1.4%. This means that DWP Fraud and Error is at its lowest ever level.
The total value of outstanding benefit overpayments as of 1 October 2015 is £2.5 billion. This represents less than 1.5% of the total benefit expenditure of £168 billion for 2014 – 2015.
The Department recovered over £1.3 billion of debt in 2014-2015, including benefit debts.