The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the development of enterprise zones in West Yorkshire.
Greg Hands
The Spending Review detailed new Enterprise Zones which will be established across England. This includes the Leeds City Region M62 Corridor Enterprise Zone in West Yorkshire.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to announce changes to procedures to deal with motor accident claims for whiplash.
Dominic Raab
In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced further reforms to tackle the number and cost of whiplash claims. The Government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department will launch its consultation on the universal service obligation on superfast broadband; and for how long that consultation will be open.
Mr Edward Vaizey
We intend to launch our consultation on proposals to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation in early 2016. The duration of the consultation will be proportionate to the issues under consideration, as advised by the Cabinet Office guidelines, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/492132/20160111_Consultation_principles_final.pdf
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many appeals against Local Planning Authority decisions by developers he has received under Section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in each year since 2009-10; in how many of those cases in each year did he exercise his powers under Section 79 of that Act to (a) allow under Section 79(1)(a), (b) dismiss under Section 79(1)(b), (c) decline to determine under Section 79(6), (d) dismiss under Section 79(6A) the appeal and (e) amend the planning authority’s original decision in any way; and in how many such cases the Local Planning Authority subsequently paid compensation to the developer as a result of his decision.
Brandon Lewis
The attached table only covers Section 79 (1)(a) and Section 79(1)(b).
We do not hold the data on section 79(6) as the legislation is very rarely used with only a handful of cases in the last 7 years. In addition, the Section 79 (6) ‘compensation’ element only allows for a party to apply for costs. This can only occur where a party has behaved unreasonably, and this has directly caused another party to incur unnecessary or wasted expense. The costs order states the broad extent of the expense the party can recover from the party against whom the award is made. It does not determine the actual amount. PPG ‘Appeals’ section 4 relates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 March (HL Deb, col GC297), whether they will provide a breakdown of the £45 million spent in Gaza since October 2014.
Baroness Verma
In October 2014, the UK pledged £20 million in early recovery assistance at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo. This included funding for reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation for those injured, clearance of unexploded ordnance, short term employment schemes, shelter and basic services, support to the private sector to reopen factories and businesses, funding for the UN’s new construction materials monitoring mechanism, technical assistance and direct support to the Palestinian Authority. The UK has disbursed this pledge in its entirety. Since then the UK has provided more than £25 million of additional support to Gaza for a range of activities, including basic service delivery and further support to the private sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions Ministers of his Department have had with counterparts in non-EU states on policies and steps to reduce the number of neural tube defect-affected pregnancies.
Ben Gummer
We are not aware that any Ministers have attended any formal meetings with countries outside the European Union member states where policies on reducing the number of neural tube affected pregnancies have been discussed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Philp on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of personal injury whiplash claims.
Harriett Baldwin
Between 1 April 2013 and 6 April 2015 the coalition government implemented a substantial programme of reform to reduce and control costs, strengthen the medical evidence process and reduce incentives to pursue fraudulent and unnecessary whiplash claims.
Despite that progress, the present government remains concerned about the number and cost of whiplash claims, which is why further reforms were announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2015. These new reforms will remove the right to compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity from minor whiplash injuries, and reduce legal costs by raising the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000. The government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course, with a view to implementing them as soon as the necessary legislation is in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what Government funding schemes are available to member trusts for restoration of cultural venues in Yorkshire.
Matt Hancock
Various grant schemes are available for the restoration of cultural venues in Yorkshire. The Heritage Lottery Fund have several schemes which can be used for restoring cultural venues, including their Heritage Grants, Sharing Heritage, and Townscape Heritage, amongst others. From the Arts Council, these include Grants For The Arts, Small Capital Grants, and Large Capital Grants. Historic England also give grants to properties on the Heritage at Risk Register, and these can be used for the restoration of cultural venues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 44488, when he plans to tighten the Planning Guarantee for minor planning applications.
Gavin Barwell
We will make an announcement about the timetable for tightening the Planning Guarantee for applications for minor development as part of our response to the consultation on implementing the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2015-10-28.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to tackle electoral fraud in (a) Peterborough and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Commission provides advice to those who are involved on the frontline in identifying, investigating and prosecuting cases of electoral fraud. Before each set of elections the Commission provides advice to the police, electoral administrators and others on ways to prevent and detect electoral fraud, based on the best practice it has identified through working with partners across electoral administration and the justice system. Each year the Commission publishes data on allegations of electoral fraud that are reported to the police.
The Commission targets additional support for those on the front line in 18 areas in England where there is a higher risk of allegations of electoral fraud. This includes Peterborough and the Commission will be working again with these areas before the elections in May 2016 to build on what was done prior to the General Election. The Commission issued briefings to all honourable members in the last parliament on the work it was undertaking prior to the General Election to help tackle electoral fraud and will do so again before the elections in May 2016.
In its 2014 review of electoral fraud, the Commission recommended that voters in Great Britain should be required to produce ID at polling stations, although it is yet to receive a response to this recommendation from the Government. The Commission has submitted evidence to the review being undertaken by Sir Eric Pickles and hopes that he agrees with it and that the Government accepts the Commission’s recommendation.