The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average size of mortgages in each London borough was in (a) 2010 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.
Brandon Lewis
The Department does not record or collect this information at London borough level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of existing capacity of existing Capacity Market Units that were awarded Capacity Market contracts did not place an exit bid in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.
Andrea Leadsom
All existing Capacity Market Units (CMU) participating in the 2014 and 2015 auctions submitted exit bids in accordance with the auction rules. Confidentiality rules mean that the Government is unable to obtain from National Grid, the delivery body for the Capacity Market, the detailed information on individual exit bids.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to change (a) the points awarded to individual descriptors under the personal independent payments (PIP) and (b) other elements of the PIP assessment process system.
Justin Tomlinson
As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.
We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many male and female enlistments in the armed forces there were in the past year.
Earl Howe
In the 12 months to 30 September 2015, 12,250 males and 1,330 females joined the UK Regular Armed Forces. In the same period, 380 males and 30 females aged under 18 years left the UK Regular Armed Forces.
A full breakdown of these figures can be found in, respectively, tables six and 11 of our Biannual Diversity Statistics publication (the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) at the following address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department plans to collect data on Government funding allocated to brain tumour research.
Joseph Johnson
The Department does not routinely collect data on government funding for research in specific disease areas or conditions. However, information on spending on research into cancer, including research on brain tumours, is collected by the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), a UK-wide partnership between the government, charity and industry which promotes co-operation in cancer research among the 22 member organisations.
Information on all Research Council and Innovate UK research funding is published on the RCUK Gateway to Research (http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many racehorses (a) died and (b) were destroyed at each of Britain’s 59 racecourses in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.
George Eustice
The Government does not hold information on racehorse fatalities. However, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) publishes annual statistics on their website on the number of racehorse fatalities. The statistics do not record whether the horse died of its injuries or was destroyed at the racecourse and do not differentiate between the different sorts of horseracing, but according to the BHA the numbers of racehorses that died at racetracks for each of the last three years are provided in the table below:
|
Year |
Number of racehorse fatalities at British racetracks |
|
2013 |
196 |
|
2014 |
189 |
|
2015 |
156 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2016 to Question 37587, what progress the Government has made on consulting local authorities to identified a specified number of children refugees to be resettled in the UK in the next year under subsection (1) of 67 of the Immigration Act of 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Local authorities are already caring for more than 4,000 unaccompanied asylum seeking children. The Government has consulted widely and extensively with local authorities across the UK in order to assess their capacity to care for additional unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children.
The Home Office has also significantly increased the funding available to local authorities that are supporting unaccompanied children and offered additional funding to bolster regional structures for the National Transfer Scheme, which is the mechanism for ensuring there is a more even distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK.
Between 12 May and 1 October 2016 over 50 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act were accepted for transfer, of which over 35 have been transferred. We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities to establish the number of children who may be eligible and have seconded UK experts to France, Greece and Italy to support the commitment to transfer eligible children to the UK, where it is in their best interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance the Government is providing for housing associations in building more affordable homes for first-time buyers.
Brandon Lewis
The Government is committed to helping hard working families meet their aspirations to own their own homes and it is a priority to increase the provision of affordable housing available to first time buyers.
We have exceeded expectations over the last five years in delivering affordable homes, with more than 260,000 delivered since April 2010.
We are committed to deliver a further 275,000 new affordable homes by 2020. This is well under way with over £1bn of the 2015-18 affordable homes programme already allocated to deliver new affordable homes across the country.
Shared ownership is an integral part of this programme and helps those who may be otherwise priced out of the market to get a foot on the property ladder. Between April 2010 and March 2015 we delivered 41,000 new shared ownership homes.
Through shared ownership and the Government’s commitment to build 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020, we are on track to help thousands of families achieve the dream of home ownership for the first time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Berry on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Sri Lankans have been granted refugee status after having previously been removed to Sri Lanka following a refused application for asylum in the UK in each quarter since January 2012.
James Brokenshire
Since January 2012, there have been a total of eight Sri Lankan nationals who have been granted refugee status in the UK after having previously been removed to Sri Lanka following a refused application for asylum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the death sentence of Abdullah al-Zaher.
Mr Philip Hammond
The British Government is very concerned about the case of Abdullah al-Zaher. The British Government has regularly raised this case, as well as the cases of the other two minors arrested with him, with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level. We will continue to follow these cases closely and raise our concerns. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which isn’t deemed “the most serious”.