The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36152, which religious festivals prisoners were released on temporary licence to attend in each year since 2011.
Andrew Selous
My officials are currently working to provide the information requested. I will write to you shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) the changing of babies in her Department.
Nick Gibb
The Department for Education’s main office in London has a facility for both nursing mothers and baby changing. This room is clearly signed as a baby changing area and contains a baby changing fold down work top, wipes, and chairs for nursing mothers to sit comfortably.
Other Department sites in Coventry, Darlington, Manchester and Sheffield also have a room available for use by nursing mothers and baby changing which contain seating, worktop areas and wipes.
The Nottingham site is a conference centre, with overnight accommodation facilities. This site is able to prepare a suitable hotel room for nursing mothers and baby changing when required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the impact of highway works and their management by utilities and local authorities on traffic congestion and delays to road traffic, they have any plans to review the operation of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 or the Traffic Management Act 2004.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government wants to deliver better journeys for drivers. Roadworks are essential, but that doesn’t mean they should be in place any longer than is absolutely necessary. We continue to keep the implementation and operation of the relevant legislation and statutory guidance under constant review, and are taking opportunities to streamline, simplify and de-regulate what has become a complex legislative framework where possible.
In addition, we are modernising and updating secondary legislation and statutory guidance where this is necessary and where it will lead to improvements in the way that road and street works are managed. Recent examples include consultations earlier this year on updated statutory guidance relating to inspections and modernised regulations relating to the qualifications regime. In 2015, we updated regulations and guidance on permit schemes that are now in place in over 55% of local authority areas and which are resulting in more effective management of street works and reductions in the duration of works.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November to Question 13665, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the proposal from High Speed UK on high speed rail.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The proposals suggested by High Speed UK are similar to the Reverse ‘E’ considered by HS2 Ltd in their 2010 report submitted to the Government on the demand and business case analysis of the alternative proposals. It was considered that this proposal could not offer better journey times from London/Birmingham to Manchester/Liverpool than HS2 trains continuing to the north-west from Lichfield via the West Coast Main Line. The Environmental Statement for the Proposed Scheme, which was prepared to accompany the deposit of the Bill, addressed the history of route alternatives and our ongoing consultation and engagement. Ministers considered the advice presented and views from a wide range of sources, and based on the evidence the decision was taken to proceed with the ‘Y’ shaped network.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Written Statement of 2 June 2015, HCWS10, on the trading plan for government shares in Lloyds Banking Group, whether he set a target for the (a) number of shares to be sold and (b) price per share for Lloyds Banking Group at the time of that Statement.
Harriett Baldwin
In December 2014 the Chancellor launched a trading plan to sell the Government’s stake in Lloyds Banking Group, which has since been extended twice; in June and December 2015. The number of shares sold over the course of the trading plan is subject to an overall volume limit of up to but no more than 15% of the aggregate total trading volume in the LBG over the duration of the trading plan.
The final amount sold will depend on market conditions, among other factors. Shares will not be sold below the average price the previous government paid for them, which was 73.6p.
As outlined to the House at the time of the trading plan’s launch, a statement with further details will be laid before Parliament when the plan concludes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the continued delivery of essential mobile telephone infrastructure to rural areas after the completion of the Mobile Infrastructure Project on 31 March 2016.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Improving mobile coverage remains a priority for the Government, and our landmark agreement in December 2014 with the four mobile network operators (MNOs) to provide voice and SMS text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017 will significantly improve coverage in the UK. It guarantees £5 billion of investment in mobile infrastructure, and as a result mobile services will come to some areas for the first time. It will halve partial not-spots (where the is coverage from at least one MNO, but not all four), and cut total not spots by two thirds by end 2017. Additionally, Telefonica has a licence obligation to deliver indoor 4G coverage to 98% of premises in the UK by 2017. Other MNOs have indicated that they will match this commitment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has been informed of any defects relating to the reliability of the Rolls-Royce MT-30 marine gas turbine engines for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
Mr Philip Dunne
There are no indications of reliability problems with the MT-30 gas turbine engines, which are used for electrical power generation on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have (a) an adopted local plan in place, (b) a local plan found sound by the planning inspectorate but not yet adopted, (c) a plan that has been submitted but not yet assessed by the planning inspectorate and (d) a plan published but not yet submitted for inspection.
Brandon Lewis
As of 29 February 2016 (a) 237 authorities had an adopted local plan in place, (b) 1 authority had a local plan that had been found sound by the planning inspectorate but not yet adopted, (c) 29 authorities had plans that have been submitted but not yet assessed by the planning inspectorate and (d) 17 authorities had published a plan but not yet submitted it for inspection.
We have committed to publishing league tables, setting out local authorities’ progress on providing a plan for the jobs and homes needed locally. Last month we set out our intention to publish this information from summer 2016, on a six monthly basis, further details of our proposals can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-planning-changes-technical-consultation.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed at each location of the Insolvency Service in the last year for which figures are available.
Anna Soubry
As at 31 March 2016, the numbers of civil servants employed at each Insolvency Service location were as follows:
|
Location |
Civil Servants |
Location |
Civil Servants |
|
Birmingham |
389 |
Leeds |
77 |
|
Blackpool |
37 |
Liverpool |
42 |
|
Brighton |
17 |
London |
299 |
|
Bristol |
35 |
Manchester |
134 |
|
Cambridge |
21 |
Newcastle |
44 |
|
Cardiff |
46 |
Nottingham |
37 |
|
Chatham |
37 |
Plymouth |
35 |
|
Croydon |
56 |
Reading |
21 |
|
Edinburgh |
36 |
Southampton |
28 |
|
Exeter |
17 |
Southend-on-Sea |
28 |
|
Ipswich |
42 |
Grand Total |
1478 |
These figures do not include 15 civil servants who were on unpaid sickness absence, career break, special leave without pay or on loan to other government departments and, therefore, were not on the Insolvency Service’s payroll on 31 March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the total spend by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) on projects to improve the employability of ex-offenders came from the European Social Fund via the NOMS Co-Financing Organisation in each year since January 2010.
Andrew Selous
We are committed to improving the employability of offenders. A range of services is available to help offenders improve their employability by helping them increase their knowledge, skills and employment experience. This can also include support to tackle substance misuse or to improve mental health. Providing meaningful work in prisons and vocational qualifications also helps increase employability. Funding comes from a variety of sources including through contracts to provide education and health services, and via Community Rehabilitation Companies. We do not, therefore, collate centrally all expenditure on projects to improve the employability of ex-offenders.
We do, however, carefully record and monitor the funding received from the European Social Fund and ensure there is no duplication of service provision. All funding received from the European Social Fund (ESF) is recorded in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts. In accordance with strict ESF rules, all funding is passed on to third-party providers who work with offenders to improve their employability. These providers are selected as part of a competitive process.