The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Matthew Offord on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the ePassport gates at Stansted Airport were fully functional on the evening of Monday 12 October 2015.
James Brokenshire
All fifteen ePassport Gates were open and fully functional at Stansted Airport on the evening of Monday 12 October 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the reasons are for the time taken to change regulations to allow mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates; what timetable is in place for that change to be made; whether she has made an assessment of the feasibility of allowing that change to be phased in as marriage registers are replaced; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office is working with all interested parties to confirm the most efficient and effective way to enable mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates.
Achieving this is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes.
The Government will confirm a timetable for the introduction of the changes in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that at least 1,000 Syrian children are brought to settle in the UK before Christmas 2015.
Richard Harrington
Scaling up the system in a way that protects the interests of all concerned, including local communities, will take a little bit of time. It will take several months to reach full capacity. However, on 19 October, I set out our intention to welcome 1,000 Syrian refugees (adults and children) before Christmas. This is the ambition that the Home Office are working towards and we will report on it after Christmas.
We are not expecting the refugees arriving in the first months of the scheme to include unaccompanied children.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that automotive manufacturers have not falsified emissions data in the same manner as Volkswagen has done.
Andrew Jones
In the UK, the Vehicle Certification Agency conducts tests on vehicles and components to ensure they meet the minimum standards required by European and UN-ECE legislation.
Emissions tests are carried out to determine that the level of pollutants emitted from a vehicle is below the required limits. The test is a laboratory based test under controlled conditions in order to achieve repeatable results.
The Department for Transport recognises the current test cycle for emissions is outdated and no longer represents normal driving patterns. Discussions have taken place over recent years to replace this with an updated more relevant laboratory test. The Department anticipates this will be implemented from 2017. In addition, a new real world driving emissions test is being implemented to ensure emissions in normal driving comply with the legal obligation. These new tests will remove the ability of car manufacturers to falsify test results.
All new vehicles are tested in accordance with EU law to ensure that they meet the legislated requirements for emissions. There is no evidence that these emissions tests have been falsified in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is that pensioners currently in receipt of the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme have been claiming that benefit.
Justin Tomlinson
A reliable estimate is not available. Consistent data on SMI claims has only been collected since 1996 and durations of claims starting before then cannot be calculated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what basis his Department took the decision to remove from the NHS Constitution the phrase ‘psychological therapies’ from the drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE; and what discussions his Department has had with NICE on steps to address the lack of parity in the way interventions for mental and physical health are addressed.
Alistair Burt
There has never been a specific reference to psychological therapies in the NHS Constitution.
For the most recent update, we did consult on whether to include a right to psychological therapies, as part of the wider right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). However, the right to drugs and treatments reflects the legal funding requirement that applies to interventions recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance. NICE has not been asked to undertake a technical appraisal of psychological therapies, so we decided that the most sensible outcome was to not include the phrase “psychological therapies” in the Constitution as it would otherwise risk confusion.
There have been no specific discussions with NICE on parity of mental and physical health interventions. The majority of new drugs and significant license extensions, including for mental health conditions, are referred to NICE for the development of technology appraisal guidance. Ifin the future psychological therapies are recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance and consequently mandated for use in the NHS, we will consider consulting once again on including a right to psychological therapies within the Constitution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in the UK are currently in possession of Security Industry Authority licences; and how many such licences were obtained since January 2010.
Mike Penning
There are currently 326,144 individuals who hold Security Industry Authority licences. Since 2010, 765,022 licences have been issued.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the 20 highest amounts paid for external legal advice by his Department were in 2014; and to whom such payments were made.
Mr Shailesh Vara
It would incur disproportionate cost to obtain this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will experience an increase in the effect of noise as a result of the current plan to modernise London’s airspace; what assessment his Department has made of the geographical extent of that increase; and what effect the proposed Heathrow expansion would have on those estimates.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government has not undertaken any such an assessments.
Proposals for airspace change in the UK are subject to the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Airspace Change Process. A key part of this process is the requirement for airspace change sponsors to consider the potential noise impacts of their proposal and to consult those who may be affected. The CAA takes full account of the potential noise impact when making its decision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Merriman on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Attorney General, how many times the Law Officers have referred a criminal sentence to the Court of Appeal for review because it was felt to be unduly lenient during the last twelve months.
Jeremy Wright
In the year to 31st December 2014, the Law Officers personally considered 469 cases and referred 128 offenders to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. 86% of those offenders had their sentences increased, which included some of the most serious violent and sexual offences, including murder, rape and sexual assault. The full statistics for 2015 will be published early next year.