The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have required environmental impact assessment since 2010.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Since 2010, when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has determined applications for consent, three Oil Transfer Licence applications have required environmental impact assessments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-03-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to consult with people in Cumbernauld on the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs Cumbernauld office.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to create two new Regional Centres in Scotland, in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2019-20, accommodating between 5,700 and 6,300 employees. HMRC’s new Regional Centres will give its staff all they need including a modern office environment, close to good travel and transport links. They will provide stable, high quality jobs and offer a wide range of opportunities for training and promotion and allow its staff to follow more varied career paths than have previously been possible.
HMRC will help all its staff work through their options. It will give everyone the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances with their manager ahead of any office closures or moves, so they know about any issues that need to be taken into account when making decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he plans to give to clinical commissioning groups on encouraging their move towards full implementation of NICE guidelines on fertility treatment.
Jane Ellison
The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.
CCGs have a legal duty to have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. As such, NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the NICE fertility guidelines.
Following a meeting with Fertility Fairness in December 2015, officials from the Department and NHS England are considering options for addressing variation in the prices that CCGs are currently paying for in vitro fertilisation treatment.
Information about the costs of individual treatments is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to require regular audits of the accuracy of records held by credit ratings agencies on UK nationals’ credit history; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
When consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014, the Government decided that, given their central role in helping to inform responsible lending decisions, CRAs should be directly regulated by the FCA. As such, every credit reference agency’s fitness to trade is being assessed as part of the FCA’s robust authorisation process
Information on a credit report should be purely factual; for example, if arrears were incurred, those lenders who share data through the credit reference agencies will have recorded them.
A credit reference agency is able to correct factually inaccurate information. However, it is the original lender or organisation that supplies credit to a consumer that provides the agencies with the information held on a credit report. Where inaccurate information has been reported to a credit reference agency, a consumer must contact the lender in the first instance.
If a problem with inaccurate data is not resolved satisfactorily with a lender, consumers are able to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is able to investigate and take action where necessary. The ICO is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights, and it enforces the Data Protection Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 8 of the Government’s report entitled, Childhood Obesity: a Plan for Action, published in August 2016, how much the Government has invested in (a) walking to school and (b) cycling to school in each year since 2010.
Andrew Jones
The table attached shows investment in walking and cycling to school programmes in each year since 2010:
In 2010/11 Bikeability was one of a portfolio of programmes delivered by Cycling England, which received £63m government funding in 2010/11.
Between 2011/12 and 2015/16, the Local Sustainable Transport Fund was open to local authorities to bid for funding for projects to address local transport problems. For some areas, this included support for walking and cycling to school projects. The Department does not hold information on precise funding allocated to these projects.
Similarly, the Department has made £20.6m revenue funding available in 2016/17 through the Sustainable Transport Transition Year Fund, which is eligible for local authorities to bid for projects which support walking and cycling to school.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-10-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to sick pay and state benefits for women who suffer from severe endometriosis.
Penny Mordaunt
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a measure of earnings replacement for employees unable to work because of short-term sickness if they satisfy the qualifying conditions, which are not related to specific medical conditions.
Those who are not entitled to SSP or are still unwell at the end of the maximum payment period (28 weeks) may, provided they satisfy the conditions of entitlement, be entitled to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
As two people with the same condition can be affected in different ways, there is no condition-based entitlement to ESA. The Work Capability Assessment recognises that conditions can vary in their severity and therefore people with the same condition could be placed in the Work Related Activity Group, the Support Group or found fit for work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many roads were resurfaced in 2014-15.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport regularly publishes Official Statistics on how many roads managed by local highway authorities were resurfaced. Figures for 2014/15 are not currently available and will be published in the next annual Road Conditions in England statistical release, provisionally scheduled for March 2016.
Poorly maintained local roads are a menace to all road users. The Government is committed to helping local authorities end the misery caused by potholes. Between 2010 and 2015 we increased funding by £1 billion from the previous five year period (2005-10) and have also pledged a further £6 billion of funding to 2021. It is the first time councils have been given locked-in funding over this length of time, which will help them plan ahead and save money for the taxpayer. This increased funding will also reward those areas that demonstrate they are delivering value for money in carrying out cost effective improvements.
The Department does not publish Official Statistics on resurfacing for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). The Highways Agency Annual Report for 2014/15 states that 2,900 lane kilometres of resurfacing took place on the SRN in that year. This report can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015. Over the course of this Parliament we plan to resurface 80% of the Strategic Road Network.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many ground troops they estimate would be required to defeat ISIL, and which countries they expect would provide those forces.
Earl Howe
We have not made such an estimate. We recognise that defeating Daesh will take a combination of military measures and political process. In Iraq we will continue to support government and Kurdish forces already rolling back Daesh. In Syria, this means an end to civil war, allowing all those forces committed to a stable, inclusive and unified Syria – including the army of an internationally-supported Syrian government – to fight Daesh together on the ground.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Hunter Class mine countermeasures vessels have completed their re-engineering; when he expects all eight to be completed; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
To date, work to replace the propulsion system on four of the Hunt Class mine countermeasures vessels has been completed with the fifth due for completion later this year. Due to changes applied to the ships upkeep programme combined with the need to address emerging engineering issues, work on the remaining three vessels is now scheduled for completion by late 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the funding for tackling female genital mutilation has been allocated to prevention work.
Karen Bradley
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.
In 2014/15, the Government provided over £380,000 to community organisations through the Home Office’s FGM Community Engagement Initiative and the Department for Communities and Local Government’s FGM and forced marriage prevention projects.
The 29 projects all included prevention work with a focus on building the confidence of women and communities to speak out against these practices and raising awareness of the serious consequences they can have.
Evaluations show that over 25,000 people were reached and feedback from participants demonstrates increased awareness of the context, manifestation and harm caused by FGM and forced marriage.