The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have delayed providing information to the Intelligence and Security Committee in order to make a determination as to whether to share that information as set out in Schedule 1 to the Justice and Security Act 2013.
Michael Fallon
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that, when planning permissions are granted for new residential developments that do not provide on-site parking spaces, those developments provide adequate power supplies and public charging points to enable residents to use electric cars.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Government supports the use of ultra-low emission or plug-in vehicles and would encourage local authorities, wherever possible, to make provision for them. The provision of power supplies and public charging points in connection with the granting of planning permission is a matter for local planning authorities to consider.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the Syrian resettlement scheme is funded through (a) Official Development Assistance and (b) funds from the EU.
Richard Harrington
All of the first year costs of the Syrian Resettlement Scheme are funded through Official Development Assistance. None of the costs are currently met using EU funding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Written Statement of 23 February 2015, HCW5292, if he will extend the anti-sock puppet clause to cover the issuing of grants and contracts made by local authorities in respect to the activities of third parties.
Mr Marcus Jones
It is for local authorities to decide how to disburse their funds, and what if any conditions to attach to any grants or contributions they make available, in accordance with the functions Parliament has given them and their duties to secure value for money in the use of taxpayers’ money.
Local authorities are accountable to their electorate, including for their use of taxpayers’ money and any member of the public with a concern about the way in which a local authority is using public money should take the matter up with the local authority directly, or contact the local authority’s independent auditor.
We will keep these matters under review and are open to representations on this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential cost to the NHS of introducing a national prostate cancer screening programme.
Jane Ellison
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recently examined and consulted upon the international peer reviewed evidence regarding prostate cancer screening. The UK NSC recommended against a systematic population screening programme for prostate cancer. This is because the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is not an accurate enough test for prostate cancer. Additionally, the UK NSC identified that there is still an incomplete understanding of which prostate cancers are aggressive and require treatment and which are safe to actively monitor. There is a significant amount of research activity underway, but currently the evidence suggests that a systematic screening programme would do more harm than good.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department’s guidance to overseas missions on hospitality for senior UK figures was last reviewed.
Mr David Lidington
Overseas Missions provide hospitality to guests to support the Government’s objectives overseas.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s guidance to staff on visits by Parliamentarians to our posts overseas was reviewed and updated in 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions her Department has had with HM Treasury on the level of VAT on energy saving materials.
Andrea Leadsom
Decisions on VAT are led by HM Treasury, and the Department has been in regular contact with them regarding the consultation on changes to the application of VAT on energy saving materials.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legislative provision OFWAT is able to waive the need for a public procurement process for lawyers and financiers for the Thames Tideway Tunnel for services contracts with fees of open-ended value, in the light of the limit for services contracts under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 of £345,028.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The statutory provision is regulation 6(8) of the Water Industry (Specified Infrastructure Projects) (English Undertakers) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/ 1582) ("the SIP Regulations"). This confers a power on Ofwat to waive the requirement imposed on a licensed infrastructure provider (being Tideway, in respect of the Thames Tideway Tunnel project) to put certain contracts out to tender under a modified version of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 as set in Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the SIP Regulations. Tideway is neither a contracting authority nor a utility within the meaning of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 and so is not subject to the normal procurement rules.
Following a public consultation, Ofwat issued two notices under this provision that waived Tideway’s obligation to comply with the modified version of the Utilities Contracts Regulations in certain limited and defined circumstances. The second notice issued by Ofwat provided Tideway with a narrow exemption for certain specified professional services relating to their financing and corporate arrangements, and only to the extent that those services will be paid for by its shareholders rather than customers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 119 of the Teaching excellence framework: technical consultation for year two, published by his Department on 16 May 2016, how the estimates for the performance metrics were reached; whether there is scope for making adjustments to those estimates in the future; whether those estimates will be used as part of formal guidance for the operation of the teaching excellence framework; and if he will publish the methodological framework and evidence for how those estimates were reached.
Joseph Johnson
In developing our proposals for the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) we used a set of indicative metrics, with data constructed using the methods set out in Chapter 2 of the TEF: Technical Consultation for Year Two. The statement that providers will fall into a bell curve was based on observing the number of providers with positive and negative significance flags against the core metrics.
The actual TEF assessments will be made against the most recent data which we anticipate will follow a broadly similar pattern. As stated in the Technical Consultation, we expect the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to construct the guidance to assessors in such a way that will lead to a distribution similar to that set out in paragraph 119; however, assessors will not be obligated to check that the awards follow this distribution, only that they have followed the guidance.
Our consultation response will outline the final metrics and HEFCE guidance will set out the detailed methodology of how the metrics are constructed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average length of time is for children to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders in (a) England and (b) West Lancashire.
David Mowat
This information is not collected centrally.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published a guideline on the recognition, referral and diagnosis of autism in under 19s. This recommends that an assessment for autism is begun within three months of referral.