The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-06-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average rent is for (a) privately rented homes and (b) new homes built under the Affordable Homes Programme in (i) Warrington and (ii) Warrington North constituency.
Kris Hopkins
The information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided any advice to public communications providers on the consequences of the decision of the European Court of Justice in Digital Rights Ireland and Seitlinger and Others on data retention by those companies.
James Brokenshire
The Government continues to consider the judgment of the European Court, but we consider that the UK Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 remain in
force. Those in receipt of a notice under the Regulations have been informed that they should continue to observe their obligations as outlined in any notice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2014-06-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what specialist one-to-one study skills support will be available for students with specific learning difficulties following the review of the disabled students allowance; and who will provide that support.
Mr David Willetts
Discussions are underway with stakeholders, including those who specialise in supporting students with Specific Learning Difficulties. This will help determine how specialist one-to-one support will be delivered in the future and where the responsibility for funding such support will fall.
I will not make a final decision on this matter until I have considered the necessary Equality Analysis, which is in preparation, and will take account of any relevant evidence provided by stakeholders.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many local authorities have signed up to become dementia friendly since the launch of the Dementia Challenge; and what other progress has been made since that date.
Norman Lamb
The dementia friendly communities recognition process was launched by Alzheimer’s Society in September 2013 and 55 communities have already signed up. We have therefore increased our original ambition of 20 communities committed to work to become dementia friendly, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia, to reach 75 communities by March 2015. In addition, 59 local authorities are members of local Dementia Action Alliances.
The Department has worked with Alzheimer’s Society to develop the recognition process for dementia friendly communities. Malpas has signed up to the recognition process and is receiving support in its work to become dementia friendly. The Department is also working with Alzheimer’s Society and the British Standards Institute to develop a code of practice for dementia friendly communities, which will help communities to continue in their work to become dementia friendly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to tackle election malpractices.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
The integrity of elections is crucial to our democracy. The Government is introducing measures to strengthen the electoral system through the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration which will make the register more accurate and secure.
The Government will carefully consider any findings by the Electoral Commission in relation to the 22 May 2014 elections to determine whether any further measures may be needed to support electoral integrity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-05.
To ask the Chairman of Committees what proportion of the food used in the House of Lords is (1) grown in the home counties; and (2) drawn from organic and whole-food sources.
Lord Sewel
The House of Lords does not draw any of its food from organic sources nor is any of the food offered categorised as “whole-food”. Fruit and vegetables used by the House sourced from the home counties are set out in the table below. Free-range chicken served in the House is mostly from Gloucestershire and Essex. The Salt Marsh lamb is from the Romney Marsh in Kent.
|
Produce |
Source county |
|
Asparagus |
Hampshire |
|
Beetroot |
Bedfordshire |
|
Bramley apple |
Cambridgeshire |
|
Cauliflower |
Kent |
|
Herbs (potted) |
Hampshire |
|
Jacket potatoes |
Hertfordshire |
|
New potatoes |
Kent |
|
Raspberries |
Sussex |
|
Red potatoes |
Kent |
|
Spring greens |
Cambridgeshire |
|
Strawberries |
Kent |
|
Tomatoes (gourmet) |
Sussex |
|
Vitelotte potatoes |
Kent |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what appointments to public bodies the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has made in the last 12 months.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
For the 12 month period ending 31 March 2014 the Department made 126 appointments, including new, reappointments and extensions to OCPA regulated public bodies. The appointments were made as follows:
|
Partner Organisation |
Chair |
Member |
|
Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service (ACAS) |
1 |
5 |
|
Arts Humanities and Research Council |
1 |
3 |
|
Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council |
1 |
3 |
|
Capital for Enterprise |
0 |
1 |
|
Competition Commission |
1 |
35 |
|
Competition Service |
0 |
1 |
|
Construction Industry Training Board |
0 |
1 (employee representative) |
|
Consumer Futures |
0 |
13 |
|
Council for Science & Technology |
1 |
13 |
|
Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council |
0 |
6 |
|
Economic & Social Research Council |
1 |
4 |
|
Higher Education Funding Council for England |
1 |
5 |
|
Low Pay Commission |
0 |
3 |
|
Medical Research Council |
0 |
2 |
|
National Environment Research Council |
1 |
3 |
|
Office of Fair Trading |
2 (of which 1 was a short-term extension). |
2 |
|
Science & Technology Facilities Council |
1 |
3 |
|
Student Loans Company |
2 (of which 1 was an interim appointment). |
4 |
|
Technology Strategy Board |
0 |
2 |
|
UK Commission Atomic Energy Authority |
1 |
3 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications they received for funding under the Human Rights and Democracy Programme in 2013 for work associated with freedom of religion or belief.
Baroness Warsi
In the 2013-14 financial year the Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP) received 218 proposals for funding. Seventeen of these proposals were for work associated with Freedom of Religion and Belief (FORB), representing 7.8% of proposals received. Six projects were ultimately funded, to the value of £214,029. This represents 3.3% of the total resource available.
The programme is keen to see more good quality project bids on this theme in future bidding rounds, and have actively encouraged more quality bids for the 2014-15 financial year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patel of Blackburn on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the proportion of ethnic minorities in the senior civil service.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
To win the global race we need the best civil servants regardless of their background so we must recruit, retain and promote on the basis of merit. We want to see more talented people, whatever their background, reach the very top roles.
As at 1 October 2013, the proportion of senior civil servants who declared that they are from an ethnic minority background is 3.8%.
We believe that for too long talent management in the Civil Service has been weak and the Government plans to address this as part of its ongoing programme of Civil Service reform.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-06-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what definition of severity for those with dyslexia or specific learning difficulties will be used to justify continued support under the Disabled Students’ Allowance.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Extensive discussions are underway with a wide range of stakeholders to help inform the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) Guidance for 2015/16, due this autumn. The guidance will set out the conditions under which DSA will apply. Students will continue to undergo individual study needs assessments, but their needs will be met by DSA and Higher Education Institutions through their duties under the Equality Act.