The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department and its executive agencies spent on the publications (a) Who’s Who, (b) Burke’s Peerage and (c) Debrett’s in each year since 2010.
Mr David Lidington
This information is not recorded centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research his Department has conducted on the potential effect of cashless payments and smart ticketing on buses on (a) bus journey times, (b) bus patronage and (c) congestion.
Andrew Jones
Through Transport Focus, the Department has conducted three pieces of bus related research on contactless payments and smart ticketing:
a) Oxford SmartZone smart card evaluation – published in September 2013
b) Norfolk’s smart card evaluation – published in March 2015
c) Non-London bus passenger attitudes towards contactless payments – not yet published.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have conducted into changes in the aggregate funding levels of UK defined benefit pension schemes over the past two years for (1) FTSE 100 companies, (2) FTSE 350 companies, and (3) small firms and charities, on (a) a technical provisions basis, and (b) a section 179 basis.
Lord Freud
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) regularly publish information on Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes’ funding levels. In addition, a number of other organisations also produce analysis of the impacts of DB pensions using a variety of measures. Over the past two years we have been using this information to closely monitor changes in the aggregate funding levels of UK DB pension schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people serving (1) life sentences, and (2) imprisonment for public protection sentences, were authorised by the Parole Board for transfer to open prison conditions in each month since January 2013.
Lord Faulks
The table below gives a breakdown of the number of indeterminate sentence prisoners who were recommended by the Parole Board for transfer to open conditions.
The data covers the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 October 2015, broken down by month, and distinguish between those serving a life sentence and those serving an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection.
These figures have been drawn from a live administrative IT system which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
April |
May |
June |
July |
Aug |
Sept |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Totals |
||
|
2013 |
||||||||||||||
|
Open Recommendations made by PB: |
IPP |
57 |
62 |
66 |
73 |
69 |
78 |
61 |
68 |
67 |
60 |
64 |
54 |
779 |
|
Lifer |
59 |
48 |
40 |
48 |
51 |
51 |
46 |
43 |
37 |
47 |
41 |
27 |
538 |
|
|
Approved for Transfer: |
IPP |
52 |
58 |
59 |
60 |
70 |
65 |
77 |
76 |
63 |
74 |
47 |
80 |
781 |
|
Lifer |
38 |
63 |
44 |
40 |
53 |
38 |
58 |
48 |
38 |
50 |
33 |
47 |
550 |
|
|
2014 |
||||||||||||||
|
Open Recommendations made by PB: |
IPP |
62 |
68 |
41 |
74 |
54 |
49 |
69 |
48 |
35 |
44 |
50 |
48 |
642 |
|
Lifer |
44 |
31 |
31 |
28 |
36 |
33 |
40 |
28 |
17 |
24 |
38 |
24 |
374 |
|
|
Approved for Transfer: |
IPP |
65 |
46 |
74 |
45 |
38 |
26 |
54 |
43 |
41 |
64 |
48 |
46 |
590 |
|
Lifer |
30 |
34 |
39 |
21 |
15 |
20 |
23 |
23 |
28 |
31 |
20 |
29 |
313 |
|
|
2015 |
||||||||||||||
|
Open Recommendations made by PB: |
IPP |
61 |
47 |
49 |
48 |
46 |
56 |
38 |
32 |
33 |
32 |
N/A |
N/A |
442 |
|
Lifer |
39 |
28 |
28 |
25 |
25 |
38 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
33 |
N/A |
N/A |
285 |
|
|
Approved for Transfer: |
IPP |
57 |
41 |
54 |
40 |
42 |
63 |
55 |
34 |
35 |
35 |
N/A |
N/A |
456 |
|
Lifer |
31 |
16 |
36 |
26 |
16 |
33 |
35 |
24 |
22 |
22 |
N/A |
N/A |
261 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Government will require the parts and equipment used in the construction of the Hinckley Point C nuclear power station to be manufactured in the UK.
Andrea Leadsom
As my rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out to the Energy and Climate Change Committee, EDF predict over 60% of the HPC project’s construction value will go to UK companies. The Government is working with EDF and other developers to maximise the opportunities for UK businesses linked to Hinkley and proposed future new nuclear projects. We have put in place a number of initiatives to help UK suppliers’ bid for new nuclear contracts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2016 to Question 20871, who the (a) applicants and (b) successful bidders were for the £5.5 million Human Rights and Democracy Programme; and how much funding each such successful bidder was allocated.
Mr David Lidington
For the Financial Year 2015-16, the Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP) received 27 bids for democracy projects from the following applicants:
Ba Futuru
British Council Libya
Carter Centre
DanChurchAid
Democracy Reporting International
Global Partners Governance
Guatemalan Archbishopric´s Human Rights Office
International Media Support
International Republican Institute
Investigative Journalists NGO (HETQ)
Jamii Media Company Limited
John Smith Trust
Law Association of Zambia
Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice
National School of Government International (NSGI)
Northern Ireland-Cooperation Oversees (NI-CO) in partnership with Politics Plus
Safer World Bangladesh and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI)
Saferworld
Stakeholder Democracy Network
The Asia Foundation
UN Development Programme
Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Young African Leaders Initiative
Youth Association for Human Rights Promotion and Development (AJPRODHO)
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum,
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
These bids were then considered on a case-by-case basis by the Programme Team, and evaluated against criteria including: value for money, project design, evidence of need, viability, sustainability, risk and local influence. Seven applicants were successful, and were allocated the amounts listed below:
DanChurchAid: £80,000
Global Partners Governance: £99,727
NI-CO in partnership with Politics Plus: £35,000
NSGI: £37,220
Safer World Bangladesh and BEI: £103,422
The Asia Foundation: £99,168
Young African Leaders Initiative: £51,397
The £100,000 Magna Carta Partnerships Fund, to assist democracies in crisis or transition, is also channelled through the HRDP. In the financial year 2015/16, we have so far agreed funding for the following implementers:
Bingham Centre: £9,993
British Embassy Mexico City: £8,000
Chatham House: £10,000
Citizen’s Watch International: £10,000
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch: £20,000
King Prajadhipok Institute: £2,752
Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas: £2,000
Slynn Foundation: £9,020
Westminster Foundation for Democracy: £5,150
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department has provided to the European Commission on whether criteria for triggering the proposed emergency brake on EEA welfare payments have been met.
Mr David Lidington
The Government has had detailed technical talks with the European Institutions, during which information was shared across a range of issues including the nature of the United Kingdom’s welfare system.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made by his Department or NHS England of the effect of minor ailments services provided by community pharmacies on demand for the services of GP practices and other parts of the NHS; and what assessment he has made of the effect of planned reductions in funding for pharmacies on those services.
Alistair Burt
NHS England has taken account of the potential impact of a pharmacy minor ailments service on general practitioner services and other parts of the National Health Service. The findings of the Minor Ailment study (‘MINA’ study), conducted by the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with NHS Grampian and the University of East Anglia, on behalf of Pharmacy Research UK in 2014, were considered. In addition, evaluations of local minor ailments schemes have continued to inform decision-making about local commissioning of such schemes.
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the NHS and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
Local commissioning and funding of services from community pharmacies, such as minor ailment services, will be unaffected by these proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimates his Department has made of the range for the value of liabilities arising from the sale of the Green Investment Bank.
Anna Soubry
Government policy is to move the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in to the private sector. Following a sale, GIB’s contractual liabilities will be funded by its new shareholders. To the extent that HM Government retains a minority stake, the Government will contribute funds towards those contractual commitments on a pro rata basis for UK based investments.
Separately, as part of the sale process, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has entered into an agreement with Poyry (provider of electricity market reports and price forecasting) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)(electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)to share information with potential bidders to help them to undertake due diligence. This agreement requires BIS to provide an indemnity to Poyry in relation to any resulting liability Poyry might incur. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills set out details of the indemnity in his written ministerial statement of 21 March (HCWS633) including his view that the likelihood of it being called upon is low. A Departmental minute explaining the procedure followed and describing the liabilities undertaken has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many public consultations his Department has conducted on the subject of mayors in Cheshire and Warrington since 2010.
James Wharton
Devolution deals, including commitments for mayoral governance, are negotiated and agreed with those democratically elected to represent their area, and who are accountable to their local electorate.
This Department has not undertaken direct public consultations on this matter in Cheshire and Warrington.