The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they are proposing to give Parliament in scrutinising the outcome of the negotiations relating to the UK leaving the EU, prior to the final conclusion of those negotiations.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government will comply with all the constitutional and legal obligations that apply to the deal that we will negotiate with the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of in-work recipients of housing benefits in the last five years.
Justin Tomlinson
Under this Government the number of out-of-work Housing Benefit claimants has fallen and one key reason for this is that they have made the positive move into work. In this way it is unsurprising, therefore, that the number of in-work recipients of Housing Benefit should rise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the potential effect on the costs of elderly care of the introduction of the national living wage.
Alistair Burt
A number of representations were received from the adult social care sector and local government as part of the Spending Review process. These covered a range of issues, including the potential costs of the implementation of the national living wage. All representations were fully considered as part of the process and were fed into the eventual outcome as announced on 25 November 2015.
Additionally, I regularly meet with representatives of local government and the care home industry to discuss topics including adult social care funding, and will continue to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to issue a revised Procurement Policy Note to public authorities on the relationship of their procurement policies to UK foreign policy.
Matthew Hancock
Cabinet Office issues any revision to guidance from time to time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2016 to Question 26203, if he will provide the number of publicly-funded jobs related directly to the Northern Powerhouse located in (a) Cumbria, (b) Northern England, (c) London and (d) other parts of England.
Greg Hands
The latest regional public sector employment survey figures are available online at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/public-sector-employment/q3-2015/index.html
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the rebuilding of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
Ben Gummer
A Full Business Case for the redevelopment of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital will go to the trust board later this month and the approved version will be submitted to NHS Improvement for review. This is now very much a priority project for the Department and NHS Improvement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his oral contribution of 21 March 2016, Official Report, column 1269, whether his Department plans to proceed with the removal of housing benefit for people aged between 18 and 21 years old.
Justin Tomlinson
The Government will be taking forward its plans to remove the automatic entitlement to housing support for new claims in Universal Credit for 18-21 year olds who are out of work from April 2017; as announced in the 2015 Summer Budget. The planned changes will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it whilst maintaining a system that is fair to the taxpayer
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has received from each (a) local authority, (b) Police and Crime Commissioner and (c) Police Chief Constable seeking further powers in relation to responsibilities to stop unauthorised encampments in the last 12 months.
Brandon Lewis
We regularly receive correspondence from individual local authorities and MPs, concerning the powers available to enforcement agencies and operation of the planning system. The Government takes the issue of unauthorised encampments and associated problems seriously and will continue to keep it under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham turned down requests from other Category 1 Responders for assistance in the last two years; and for each such request (a) what type of request it was, (b) what reason was recorded for it being turned down and (c) which coastguard station turned it down.
Mr John Hayes
Her Majesty’s Coastguard does not specifically record occurrences when other Category 1 Responders or any other service requests assistance. Information may be held within the text narrative of an incident record but this would require a check of tens of thousands of records over the last two to five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of the proposed Garden Bridge, whether the Department for Transport met each of the criteria set by the Treasury before funding was committed; if not, what action was taken to override the Treasury criteria; and what changes to procedures are in place to avoid any non-compliance with Treasury criteria.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Government funding for the Garden Bridge project was initially announced by the former Chancellor of the Exchequer in his 2013 Autumn Statement. In a subsequent letter to the then Secretary of State for Transport, the Chancellor said that this funding had been committed on the basis that:
The first criterion was met in full in advance of funding being transferred to Transport for London.
In respect of the second criterion, a business case for the project was produced by Transport for London and assessed by the Department before any funding was transferred. The Department’s analysis suggested that the project had a wide range of possible benefit to cost ratios, and that whilst there were risk factors associated with such a unique project, it had a reasonable chance of delivering value for money. The funding was therefore made available with a number of conditions attached to it, including a cap of £8.25 million on the amount that could be spent before the start of construction. That particular condition was revised, with part of the funding now able to be used to underwrite the cancellation costs that would arise were the project to be cancelled. This followed a Ministerial direction by the previous Secretary of State for Transport in May 2016.
In respect of the third criterion, funding of the ongoing maintenance costs will be a matter for the Garden Bridge Trust, but should the Trust be unable to cover these costs, the previous Mayor issued a Mayoral direction in June 2015 which approved the provision of guarantees by the Greater London Authority in relation to the Garden Bridge, subject to suitable terms and arrangements being agreed.
In terms of the fourth criterion, the Government has made clear that there will be no more public funding for the project beyond what has already been committed.
I receive regular progress reports from the chairman of the Garden Bridge Trust, and Department for Transport officials are in regular contact with their opposite numbers in Transport for London and the Garden Bridge Trust to discuss these and other matters. I do not consider any changes are necessary to these procedures.