The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what budget was allocated by her Department to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in each financial year from 2009-10; and what budget is allocated to that organisation for 2015-16.
Justine Greening
I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given on 28 April 2014 to the right honourable member for East Renfrewshire (Jim Murphy MP), Column 565W (196345).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2015-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had on how the Government will consult the public about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Matthew Hancock
The Government regularly discusses the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with representatives from business, trade union, consumer and civil society groups. We will continue to seek to engage with all interested parties and provide information about the progress of discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of start-up loans have been taken up by black and minority ethnic people in the last five years.
Matthew Hancock
As of 31st December 2014, 6,351 start-up loans with a value of £34.8 million have been drawn down by black and minority ethnic people. This equates to 25% of the total lent under the programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-01-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has made to the European Court of Justice in response to its consideration of the VAT treatment of bitcoin transactions; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
No representations have been made to the EU Court of Justice regarding the VAT treatment of Bitcoin transactions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK armed forces will be employed in training Iraqi and peshmerga brigades to fight against ISIS.
Mr Mark Francois
For several months we have provided training and equipment to Kurdish forces, including infantry, combat first-aid, sharp-shooting and counter-IED training. The National Security Council agreed in December that we should do further work to scope the additional assistance we could offer to the Iraqi military. At this stage no firm decisions have been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether road safety targets are at present set for local authorities; and, if not, whether they have considered reinstating them.
Baroness Kramer
The Government has not set road safety targets for local authorities, and is not considering reinstating them. However, local authorities are free to set their own targets if they find this useful.
The fact that the Government has not set a target does not mean that it does not consider road safety to be a high priority. The strategic framework includes forecasts of the casualty numbers that we might expect to see through to 2030 from the measures implemented by Government, and the actions of local authorities.
While we believe that previous road safety targets have been useful we do not consider that over-arching national targets are necessary for road safety in Great Britain. This is because we do not believe that further persuasion is needed on the importance of road safety. We expect central and local government to continue to prioritise road safety and continue to seek improvements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morrow on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, if the draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 are passed, any person created by the procedures provided for by that legislation will be followed-up in the way recommended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s Expert Panel on page 5 of their report, Scientific review of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease through assisted conception: update, 2013.
Earl Howe
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 will not come into force until 29 October 2015. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will consider how best to apply a monitoring framework to clinics awarded a licence to carry out mitochondrial donation treatment, against which it would inspect.
The HFEA will announce its proposals for the regulation and monitoring of mitochondrial donation treatment cycles following the approval of regulations by Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was spent on HIV-related information campaign advertising in 2014.
Earl Howe
The Department holds a contract with the Terrence Higgins Trust to deliver targeted HIV prevention programmes for those groups most at risk of HIV which in the United Kingdom is men who have sex with men (MSM) and black African communities. The current contract delivers the HIV Prevention England programme. In 2014-15 the value of this contract was £2.450 million and of this £550,000 was spent on social marketing activity including advertising.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 223589, what the value was of the support provided by Network Rail to the National Task Force in each year since 2009-10.
Claire Perry
The Government, and Network Rail, to further their objective of supporting a safe, reliable and efficient rail network, engage with and support a broad range of stakeholders and initiatives across Government. These include the Technical Strategy Leadership Group; Rail Delivery Group Limited; the Planning Oversight Group; and the National Task Force.
The Department provided the following funding towards the Technical Strategy Leadership Group’s strategic research programme through a grant to RSSB which facilitates the group:
|
Year |
DfT grant towards TSLG’s research programme (£m) |
|
2010/11 |
1.25 |
|
2011/12 |
1.75 |
|
2012/13 |
3 |
|
2013/14 |
3.5 |
Network Rail does not provide direct financial support to the Technical Strategy Leadership Group.
Network Rail, between 10th August 2012 and 31st March 2014, paid £240,000 to Rail Delivery Group Limited in membership fees. For the year April 2014 – March 2015, Network Rail has paid or is due to pay £1,568,509 in membership fees. The increased fees paid by Network Rail in the most recent year are as a result of the Group assuming responsibility for policy formulation and communications on behalf of the rail industry. Network Rail provides staff to Rail Delivery Group Limited, for which it is due to charge the group £261,312.
The Planning Oversight Group is funded and supported by Rail Delivery Group Limited and does not receive direct financial support from the Department or Network Rail. The National Task Force does not have a budget, but those who attend are drawn from the various industry members.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential (a) number of job losses at and (b) redundancy costs to local authorities as a result of the proposed takeover of responsibility for LLC1 searches by the Land Registry.
Matthew Hancock
At this stage it is not possible to quantify whether there will be any redundancies at local authorities or if so, how many there could be.
Land Registry’s current research suggests approximately 850 local authority staff deal with Local Land Charges as all or part of their roles. Land Registry acknowledges the possibility that there may be redundancies among these staff, but they will typically have additional responsibilities alongside their Local Land Charges role.
Further work is required to understand exactly how much time is spent by each individual officer on the Local Land Charges service. Land Registry will, of course, fulfil any TUPE obligations if applicable in any particular case.