The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Delvigne v Commune de Lesparre-Médoc (Case C-650/13); and whether any changes to legislation or government policies are required as a result of that judgment.
Lord Faulks
The UK’s ban on prisoner voting stays in place and as we have consistently stated, remains a matter for Parliament to determine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage households to donate unused food.
Rory Stewart
Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Government continues to work with the grocery sector to reduce household food waste. The Love Food Hate Waste programme helps UK households to reduce food waste and save money through awareness raising and consumer advice. There has been a 15% (1.3 million tonnes) reduction in household food waste between 2007 and 2012.
WRAP launched Courtauld 2025 on 15 March, which builds on the progress we have already made. This new agreement includes a target to reduce food and drink waste arising in the UK by 20% by 2025 (calculated as a relative reduction per head of population).
For the average household, the price of avoidable food and drink waste is £470 per year. For the average household with children, the cost of avoidable food and drink waste is £700 per year.
The total amount of food thrown away by the average household is 260 kg per year. 160 kg of this is avoidable waste. For the average household with children, this figure rises to 390 kg per year, including 240 kg of avoidable food waste.
These are the latest available figures, applying to 2012. WRAP aims to publish updated figures for household food waste later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the funding provided for research into the use of laser treatment for cancers from the science budget in the last five years.
Joseph Johnson
Research into cancer involving proton therapy and laser treatment falls within the remit of the Research Councils.
I have asked the Chair of the Research Councils UK Strategic Executive to write to the hon. Member and I will place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 32900, what materials have been distributed to (a) students and (b) higher and further education institutions in respect of (i) voter registration and (ii) the EU referendum; what the cost to the public purse of that material was; and if he will place copies of all such material in the Library.
John Penrose
Ministers wrote to universities, Further Education and sixth form colleges to encourage them to promote registration among their students ahead of the Referendum. The Government used social media to support initiatives such as Universities UK’s ‘student action week’ and shared the Electoral Commission’s publicly available materials at no additional cost to the public purse. No additional activity has taken place with these audiences since the start of the Purdah period.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the application of the Universal Service Obligation for broadband in Scotland.
Matt Hancock
Telecoms, including the Broadband Univeral Service Obligation (USO) is a reserved matter and applies throughout the UK. We have regular discussions with the Scottish Government on a wide range of issues, and I am grateful for their responses to the Government’s USO consultation and more recently to Ofcom’s Call for Inputs on the design of the USO.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will ensure better provision of public legal education to ensure people understand and can effectively claim their rights, and to provide parallel education to practitioners.
Sir Oliver Heald
As one of their regulatory objectives the legal services regulators have a duty to promote public understanding of citizens’ legal rights and duties. The regulators have established the Legal Choices website, which provides information to help with decisions on whether and how to seek legal advice and the available services the public might choose. There is also easy to understand information to help the public to be aware of their rights and the law on the ‘crime, justice and the law’ section of the GOV.UK website. Finally, independent advice is also provided at the Advicenow website, established by Law for Life, which provides information on rights and the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned date for the (a) start and (b) finish of the A509 Isham bypass is; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones
The latest information provided by Northamptonshire County Council, the promoters of the A509 Wellingborough Development Link which contains the proposed Isham Bypass, is that subject to the successful completion of any remaining design and legal process, and approval by my Department, work could start on site in April 2017 and the scheme open in October 2018.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the (a) likely level of unmet mental health needs of looked-after children and (b) care outcomes of such children with such unmet needs.
Edward Timpson
The major study on this issue, ‘The mental health of young people looked after by local authorities in England’, conducted by the Office for National Statistics in 2002, found that 44% of children with a mental disorder were in contact with child mental health specialists, and a third had accessed special education services.
The Government recognises the need to improve the provision of mental health services for children, including looked-after children, care leavers and those who are adopted from care, because they face a higher risk of developing mental health difficulties. In line with the proposal in ‘Future in mind’, Clinical Commissioning Groups across all areas have submitted Local Transformation Plans for children’s and young people’s mental health and wellbeing to NHS England. These plans, which are currently being assured, should cover the whole spectrum of services for children and young people, including interventions for those with existing or emerging mental health problems.
A new mental health services dataset is being implemented which, from 2016, will begin to allow benchmarking of local services at national level. This will begin to provide better data on outcomes, the source of referral, waiting times and demographic information, including whether a child is looked after. This will enable further analysis of whether vulnerable children and young people are able to access services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to make an assessment of the performance of the National Crime Agency in its first year of full operation in Northern Ireland.
Mr John Hayes
Since 20 May 2015, the National Crime Agency has been operating with full powers in Northern Ireland. The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (National Crime Agency and Proceeds of Crime) (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 requires the Northern Ireland Policing Board to monitor the exercise of the functions of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland. The interim Memorandum of Understanding between the National Crime Agency and the Northern Ireland Policing Board states the Board is required, not later than six months after the end of each financial year, to issue a report relating to the policing of Northern Ireland for the next financial year. The report will include an assessment of the exercise of the functions of the NCA in Northern Ireland. It further requires the Director General of the National Crime Agency to attend the Northern Ireland Policing Board and, in order to assist them, the National Crime Agency is to provide, on a quarterly basis, performance reporting on the exercise of the NCA’s functions in Northern Ireland which will be aligned to the key threat areas in the National Control Strategy, as outlined in the NCA’s Annual Plan. The NCA is committed to playing its role in tackling serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department spent on advertising to raise awareness of the dangers of drug driving in 2014-15.
Andrew Jones
In 2014-15 the Department’s THINK! Drug Drive campaign supported the drug drive legislation change by informing an ‘all adult’ audience about the new law and its consequences using PR and local press ads. In addition, we targeted those most likely to drug drive (young males aged 17-34) to challenge and deter them from drug driving, using radio, digital display, video on demand and outdoor advertising.
The total spent on advertising was £1.4m.