The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
It is usual practice for a Special Adviser to accompany the Foreign Secretary on overseas visits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the amount it will spend on (a) television, (b) print, (c) online and (d) billing advertising in the next 12 months.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not hold an advertising budget.
As such there is no expected spend on advertising over the next 12 months other than that for the advertisement of public appointments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people were recorded as homeless in each region in each of the last five years.
Mr Marcus Jones
The number of households accepted as being owed a main homelessness duty in each region of England in the last five financial years is shown in the atttached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much per capita Arts Council England is spending in each region in 2015-16.
Mr Edward Vaizey
In May, Arts Council England (ACE) announced they will increase the percentage of Lottery funding distributed outside London from 70% to 75% by the end of 2018; and invest over £35 million in the Ambition for Excellence fund – over £31 million of which will be spent outside London. There continues to be a shift in spending on National Portfolio funding away from London. In London, £26.02 is spent per head in 2015/16 – compared with £29.74 in 2009/10, when the Hon Member’s constituents in Yorkshire received £8.00 per head, compared with £10.93 this year.
The table outlines ACE investment by region, and spend per head in 2015/16:
|
2015-16 YTD |
TOTAL |
Spend per head |
|
East |
£35,558,838 |
£5.91 |
|
East Midlands |
£28,393,349 |
£6.12 |
|
London |
£222,182,958 |
£26.02 |
|
North East |
£34,153,682 |
£13.04 |
|
North West |
£65,878,044 |
£9.24 |
|
South East |
£45,263,359 |
£5.10 |
|
South West |
£45,805,668 |
£8.45 |
|
West Midlands |
£70,442,158 |
£12.33 |
|
Yorkshire |
£58,586,846 |
£10.93 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people from other EU member states have received each type (a) of working aged and (b) in-work benefit in each of the last 10 years; and what the total cost to the public purse was of those people claiming each of those benefits in each of those years.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to refuse the applications to use neonicotinoid pesticides on British fields this year.
George Eustice
The Government has received two applications for emergency authorisation of neonicotinoid seed treatments for use on oilseed rape during 2016. These applications are currently being assessed according to the normal rules, which allow for limited and controlled use of a pesticide on an exceptional basis in emergency situations to control a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means.
The decision on whether or not to grant the authorisations will be made on the basis of an examination, by the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides, the Health and Safety Executive and Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser, of the technical and scientific information submitted by the applicant.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which bodies have made representations to the Government on the inclusion of administration costs, travel and wages in the funding for the Digital Apprenticeship System; and what proportion of bodies making such representations were in favour of the Government’s proposals.
Nick Boles
My officials have been engaging employers throughout the policy development to gain their insight and advice. As part of the formal consultation last year, over 700 responses were received from employers. Opinions were evenly split as to whether levy funding should only be used to pay for the direct costs of apprenticeship training and assessment. Further information is available in the published Government response.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Porter of Spalding on 2016-09-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of extending the council tax referendum provisions introduced by the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 to include levying bodies such as Internal Drainage Boards on (1) the ability of local authorities to raise revenue through council tax or the delivery of their statutory functions, and (2) the ability of Internal Drainage Boards to deliver flood defence and land drainage activities.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The referendum threshold is not a cap – councils can set any council tax increase they like provided they obtain the consent of their local electorate in a referendum. Including levying bodies in the council tax referendum legislation increases the transparency and accountability of public bodies for their tax-raising and spending decisions. Local authorities and their levying bodies had shown that they can work together to cut costs and improve services, and this measure placed all local authorities on a common footing when setting council tax.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government set out an assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia in the UK statement to the UN’s Human Rights Council’s 33rd Session on 28 September 2016. In summary, Somalia has committed to upholding human rights, but implementation has been slow. Some progress has been made but overall the human rights situation in Somalia remains severe
We will urge the Federal Government of Somalia to uphold human rights and respect its international obligations. Key human rights legislation should be implemented swiftly and effectively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has attracted in investment to regenerate the site of the Royal Hospital Haslar; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) Regeneration Investment Organisation is promoting the Royal Haslar Hospital site for international investment. To date, no investment has been attracted into the site by UKTI.