Tag: Tania Mathias

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the estimate of surface access costs associated with an expansion of Heathrow Airport produced by (a) the Airports Commission and (b) the Mayor of London in his response to the Airports Commission consultation, published in February 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Airports Commission, in undertaking its work consulted widely, engaging with a broad range of organisations and people, and considered a wide range of views and information from stakeholders, including the Mayor of London, to inform its recommendations.

The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report, including its examination of the costs of the surface access proposals associated with airport expansion, before taking any decisions on next steps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Government has spent on the upkeep of the site of Kneller Hall, Whitton, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Mark Lancaster

Information on investment at Kneller Hall for each of the financial years for which figures are available is shown in the following table:

Financial Year	Total Spend £ million
2009-2010	0.7
2010-2011	1.1
2011-2012	1.1
2012-2013	1.1
2013-2014	1.2
2014-2015	1.5
2015-2016	1.1 (estimate)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the report entitled, Self-employment review – An independent report by Julie Deane, published in February 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending entitlement to statutory adoption pay to self-employed people.

Anna Soubry

The Government is considering all the recommendations made in Julie Deane’s independent review of self-employment and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) potential benefits to security and (b) viability of effective implementation of requiring proof of identification prior to purchase of a SIM card.

Sarah Newton

This issue was considered in detail by an expert group comprising representatives of law enforcement, the security and intelligence agencies and communication service providers following the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005. The experts’ findings remain valid. They concluded that the registration of ownership of mobile telephones would not deliver any significant new benefits to the investigatory process.

Mobile phones are not the only devices capable of making calls or sending messages. Many laptops, computers, popular MP3 players and games consoles also support the sending of messages and phone calls. These devices are increasingly being used for communications. It would be necessary to include these other devices in any mandatory registration scheme.

Separately, the person who buys the device is not necessarily the person who will use it. Mobile phones are often sold or given to family members or friends which would mean that such information would quickly become out of date.

Furthermore, those who were keen to avoid providing details would still find ways to circumvent the scheme, such as purchasing or registering phones under false identities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to recover money owed by people who benefited from the employee benefit trust scheme used by Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs has a statutory duty to maintain taxpayer confidentiality and cannot comment on the affairs of individual taxpayers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which body is responsible for enforcement of aircraft noise abatement requirements.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government sets noise abatement procedures at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. These are set out in Noise Abatement Requirements Notice(s) made under section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

At other airports these are agreed locally often through local planning agreements. Where the Government sets the procedures these are monitored by the airports’ noise and track keeping systems which receives data from National Air Traffic Services (NATS) radars and permanent noise monitors located around the airport.

Adherence to the noise abatement procedures are reported via the airports flight performance report which will be available on the airports website. Fines are imposed at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airport for breaching noise departure limits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the potential effect of airport expansion on the UK’s climate change goals.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Department for Transport officials are engaging closely with colleagues in the Department for Energy and Climate Change and any decision regarding future airport capacity will take into account the Government’s obligations under the Climate Change Act.

On 14 December 2015 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Government would undertake a package of further work, including on measures to mitigate carbon impacts and address sustainability concerns, particularly during construction. This further work will conclude by the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support the parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities to enable them to find employment.

Penny Mordaunt

Where parents of disabled children would like to go out to work, DWP wants to make it easier for them to do so. Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches provide personalised support, tailored to meet the needs and requirements of the claimant, helping them to find work that fits with their individual circumstances. Work Coaches will also endeavour to support the claimant to overcome barriers that might make finding a job more difficult and will work with the individual to identify the most appropriate help available.

Under Universal Credit, extra financial support is available to parents for each dependent child who is disabled. Universal Credit also provides working parents with help with childcare costs. In April 2016, we extended this support to cover up to 85% of the eligible costs of childcare.

Parents of disabled children also receive help with childcare through the free childcare entitlements. All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week, and we are extending this free entitlement to 30 hours per week for working parents of three and four year olds. In addition, two year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare if they have a current statement of special educational need or an education, health and care plan, or receive Disability Living Allowance.

The Department for Education is consulting on additional funding for children with special education needs and disabilities as part of its consultation on early years funding which closes on 22 September 2016.

Working parents of disabled children will also benefit from extra support under Tax-Free Childcare which will be introduced from early 2017. This will provide Government support with childcare costs of up to £4,000 per year for a disabled child up to the age of 17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason UK consular services did not allow medical experts from Gaza to travel to the UK to attend the recent conference at Kingston University on trauma in war zones.

James Brokenshire

In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is, therefore, unable to provide the information requested.

All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to update the Heathrow Airport London (Noise Abatement Requirements) Notice 2010 to require higher minimum rates of climb for aircraft taking off from Heathrow Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The requirements are kept under review to take account of any relevant new evidence. However, I have no plans at present to update the Heathrow Airport London (Noise Abatement Requirements) Notice 2010.