Written answers

Wednesday, 21 February 2018

  • Department for Transport

    • Heathrow Airport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the management Heathrow Airport on the planned length of the third runway there.

    • Shipping: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding was made available to employers from the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT)budget for trainee seafarer ratings in (a) 2015-16 and (b)...

      Shipping: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of seafarer ratings in training in each of the next five years.

      Shipping: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect that the increase in funding for the Support for Maritime Training scheme will have on the number of (a)...

      Railways: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential financial merits of including in the Hope Valley improvement scheme an increase in express trains...

      Railways: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the Hope Valley line improvement scheme on economic growth in the area.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial...

    • Employment Agencies: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend...

      Conditions of Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial...

      Conditions of Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Nurses: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many student nurses from outside the UK have received bursaries in the last four years.

    • Nurses: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase routes into nursing.

      Food: Labelling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make it mandatory for pre-packaged food to contain traffic light labelling on the front of the packaging.

      Accountable Care Organisations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it was the Government’s intention for Accountable Care Organisations to fall within the scope of the (a) National Health...

      Midwives: Complaints

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what timescales and processes are for investigating outstanding and unresolved complaints on midwifery malpractice in the NHS.

      Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 123547, on Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement, what those contracts...

      Tobacco

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he monitors observance by UK overseas posts of the revised guidance on support to the tobacco industry published in December 2013.

  • Department for Education

    • Maintained Schools: Leeds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the amount held in reserves by maintained schools in the Leeds City Council local authority area in for 2017/18.

    • Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of childcare settings taking part in the 30 hour childcare scheme for 3 and 4 year old children...

      Home Education: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the £1.7 million awarded to organisations in the voluntary and community sectors to support evidence-based home learning, how...

      Children's Centres: Inspections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Ofsted emergency inspections of children's centres were triggered by safeguarding concerns in each year prior to September 2015 for which...

      Pre-school Education: Inspections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Ofsted inspections of early years providers in evaluating the teaching provided and learning...

      Pre-school Education: Teachers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the barriers to recruiting and retaining early years teachers; what steps his Department is taking to...

      Schools: Asbestos

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will list those schools in each local authority area in England that have been found to have asbestos that is yet to be treated.

      Schools: Inspections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on the provision of education when Ofsted inspections do not occur routinely...

      Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the trend in the number of specialist teachers for deaf children in (a) Yorkshire and (b) Wakefield...

      Student Loans Company: Annual Reports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the publication of the Student Loans Company's annual report for 2016-17.

      Disabled Students' Allowances

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many disabled students allowance awards have been made to students in higher education in each year since 2015.

      Pre-school Education: Teachers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the number of early years teachers.

      Pre-school Education: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children in receipt of the early years pupil premium achieved a good level of development in the most recent year for which figures...

      Agriculture: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how his Department is promoting land-based colleges in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

      Children: Obesity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle obesity levels in children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

      Teachers: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the School Direct route into teaching.

      Teachers: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many non-repayable bursaries the Government has allocated to support trainee teachers in the last year; and what the value was of those bursaries.

      Teachers: Migrant Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of state school teachers in England were recruited from EU countries.

      Teachers: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage professionals into teaching.

      Teachers: Labour Turnover

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve the retention rate of teachers in England.

      Teachers: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much money his Department has spent on advertising for teacher recruitment in each year since 2010.

      Education: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much revenue support has been provided by his Department to (a) Baker Dearing Educational Trust, (b) New Schools Network and (c) Studio Schools...

      Schools: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an assessment of the (a) efficacy and (b) experiences of Designated Safeguarding Leads in schools in advance of the...

      Special Educational Needs: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how mainstream schools are held to account for the use of SEND funding; and whether the Government plans to ring-fence that funding.

      Special Educational Needs: Teachers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that SEND is a fundamental part of strengthening Qualified Teacher Status.

      Special Educational Needs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve career progression opportunities for special educational needs coordinators and SEND specialists; and...

      Carillion: Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the liquidation of Carillion on schools in Liverpool Walton constituency.

      Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all schools teach awareness of violence against women and girls.

      Teachers: Liverpool Walton

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of unqualified teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Liverpool Walton constituency in each year...

      Schools: Labour Turnover

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the public sector pay cap on the recruitment and retention of staff in schools in (a) the UK,...

      Children's Centres: Liverpool Walton

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of Sure Start children’s centres on the school readiness of children in Liverpool...

      Universities: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of people from lower socio-economic backgrounds applying to university.

      Social Mobility

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to co-ordinate cross-Whitehall working to increase social mobility in response to the recommendations of the...

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Bedford Prison

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many additional days of imprisonment were imposed as punishment on prisoners at HM Prison Bedford during 2016?

    • Berwyn Prison

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of cells rendered out of use due to damage caused by prisoners at HMP Berwyn since its opening.

      Berwyn Prison

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of staff in bands two to five who have (a) resigned, (b) been regraded, (c) been transferred or (d)...

      Ministry of Justice: Capita

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines Capita has paid under any contract with the Ministry of Justice in each year since 2010; and why each of those fines was imposed.

      Ministry of Justice: Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 123549, on Ministry of Justice: Procurement, what those contracts are; and what the value of each...

      Gov Facility Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether trades unions and other employee organisations were consulted on the establishment of Gov Facility Services Limited.

      Gov Facility Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether employees of Gov Facility Services Limited are covered by TUPE regulations.

      Gov Facility Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Gov Facility Services Limited is classified as an arms-length body of his Department; and who is planned to sit on the board of directors of...

      Gov Facility Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the amount of financial liabilities was which was taken on by his Department when forming Gov Facility Services Limited.

      Amey

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2018 to Question 125504, on Amey, what was meant by the statement that the maintenance contract with Amey will be...

      Amey and Carillion

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons contracted out facilities management to (a) Carillion (b) Amey.

      Amey and Carillion

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many recorded breaches of contracts by (a) Carillion and (b) Amey there were in financial year 2016-17.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Prince's Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce the Princes Trust to young people to help them acquire employment.

    • Jobcentres: Glasgow

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of customers who attend Easterhouse Jobcentre have been sent a letter informing them of the upcoming closure of the premises.

      Carillion: Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for the Cabinet Office of 15 January 2018, on Carillion, if she will place the annual...

      Universal Credit: Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether universal credit recipients who have received a provisional offer of employment but are undergoing security checks prior to being...

      Automation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the number automated jobs on the potential merits of introducing a universal...

      Mortgages: Glasgow South

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Glasgow South constituency are in receipt of Support for Mortgage Interest payments in the latest period for which figures...

      Mortgages: Kilmarnock and Loudoun

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who will be directly affected by changing support for...

      Mortgages: Interest Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse is of contracting Serco to advise people on the provisions of the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cotswolds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for his Department to consider the application of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to...

    • Food: Production

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the sale of food closer to its source of production.

      Plants: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that effective biosecurity measures are in place to protect flora in the UK.

  • Home Office

    • Asylum: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to table AS 08 Q of the Quarterly Immigration Statistics, January to March 2017, published on 25 May 2017, how many...

    • Home Office: Brexit

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which EU legislation within her Department's responsibilities will (a) be incorporated into UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal)...

      Home Office: Sign Language

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department takes to provide (a) information on its services in British Sign Language (BSL) and (b) correspondence in BSL to...

      Licensing Laws

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the success rate of appeals against decisions taken by local authorities' licensing committees to limit the supply of cheap,...

      Daily Express: Freedom of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many freedom of information requests from Mr Giles Sheldrick of the Daily Express are outstanding.

      Serbia: Visas

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has make an assessment of the cost of a visa from Serbia; and what plans she has to extend the length of those visas.

      Hunting: Licensing

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been issued under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for research involving (a) deer and (b) registered stag...

      Visas: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much revenue UK Visas and Immigration received from priority visa application fees in the past five years.

      Cybercrime: North Korea

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with officials from Europol on the progress of that organisation's investigations into possible North...

      Domestic Violence Protection Orders

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Domestic Violence Protection Orders have been approved in court in England and Wales in each of the last...

      Home Office: Electric Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles in her Department's fleet are (a) electric vehicles and (b) ultra-low emission vehicles.

      Marriage Certificates

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124619 what discussions her Department has held with the sponsors of the (i)...

      Radicalism

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department provided letters on behalf of the Making a Stand campaign led by INSPIRE (a) nationally and (b) through local prevent...

      Asylum: English Language

      To ask the Minister for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers do not have access to free classes in English as a second language.

      Domestic Violence: Greater Manchester

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many recorded incidents of domestic violence there were in (a) Leigh constituency and (b) Wigan Borough in each of the last ten years.

  • HM Treasury

    • Sanctions

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suspected breaches of financial sanctions were reported to the Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in 2017; what...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Electronic Voting: Pilot Schemes

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to work with the devolved administrations on their proposed pilots of online voting.

    • Electronic Voting: Pilot Schemes

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps would be required for a local council in England to initiate a pilot of online voting.

      Public Sector: Pay

      What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reviewing public sector pay.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Financial Reporting Council

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when each individual director of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) board, as at 1 February, was first made aware that the FRC had been designated as a...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Hong Kong: Human Rights

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister discussed concerns over freedom and human rights in Hong Kong during her meeting with President Xi Jinping on 1 February.

    • Turkey: Syria

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Turkey about Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in Afrin.

      Tunisia: Politics and Government

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they have offered to the coalition government in Tunisia to help implement the new constitution and to ensure that Tunisia’s transition to...

      Gaza: Islamic State

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which Islamic State groups and adherents are fuelling instability in Gaza.

      Afghanistan: Islamic State

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent number of attacks carried out by Islamic State in Kabul; and what is the impact of those attacks on their overall...

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Northern Ireland Government

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the failure of the political parties in Northern Ireland to reach an agreement on the restoration of a devolved administration, what assessment...

    • Northern Ireland Government

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their definition of a victim for the purpose of legacy issues arising out of the Northern Ireland Troubles.

      Northern Ireland Government

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the introduction of an amnesty for crimes committed during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Drugs: Misuse

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to convene an advisory panel to develop substance misuse guidance, focused specifically on older adults; and what lessons they have...

  • Department for International Development

    • Burma: Rohingya

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent assessment of (1) the living and health conditions of the 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, especially children; (2) the level of...

  • Department for Education

    • Children in Care

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children were taken into care in each of the last three years, because of the destitution of their parents or carers; and in how many such cases the...

    • Respite Care: Children

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what mechanisms they have in place to ensure that local authorities meet their statutory duty to provide short breaks for the carers of disabled children.

      Private Education: Radicalism

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to subject those independent schools that are outside the ambit of the Independent Schools Council to more stringent and frequent...

      Out-of-school Education

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 6 February (HL Deb, col 1910), why 89 schools that have been identified as unregistered are continuing...

  • The Senior Deputy Speaker

    • Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

      To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, in the light of the resolutions on Restoration and Renewal passed by both Houses, what are the likely next steps; and what will be the mechanism for Peers to...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Employment: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to introduce mandatory reporting on the number of disabled people employed by (1) public bodies, and (2) private companies.

    • Motability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the grade of the official in the Department of Work and Pensions who has regular contact with the charity Motability in connection with the supply of motor...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average amount of housing benefit provided per dwelling for (1) council housing, (2) housing association properties, and (3) privately rented...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Non-native Species

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they spent in the 2016–17 financial year on biosecurity measures relating to invasive non-native species, broken down by (1) policy functions, (2)...

    • Environment Protection: Standards

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to ensure that environmental standards are maintained after Brexit; and if so, how.

      Air Pollution

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in formulating a new nationwide clean air plan that reduces emissions from all sources.

      Plants: Disease Control

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they spent in the 2016–17 financial year on biosecurity measures relating to plant diseases and pests, broken down by (1) policy functions, (2)...

      Trees: Disease Control

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they spent in the 2016–17 financial year on biosecurity measures relating to tree diseases and pests, broken down by (1) policy functions, (2)...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Thames Tideway Tunnel

      To ask Her Majesty's Government on what criteria the Infrastructure and Project Authority concluded that the Thames Tideway Tunnel no longer requires its oversight and reporting.

    • Immigration: Statistics

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to remarks made by the Prime Minister during her trip to China, whether they plan to remove students from immigration figures; and if so, when.

  • Department for International Trade

    • Overseas Trade: China

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what was (1) the number, and (2) the potential value, of commercial deals concluded between UK companies and Chinese concerns in the course of the Prime...

    • Overseas Trade: China

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what impediments, if any, to conducting trade with China were identified in the course of the Prime Minister’s recent trade promotion visit to China as being...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Museums and Galleries

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they provide to government-sponsored galleries regarding the disclosure of information on the operation and activities of any private commercial...

What is this?

The parliamentary question is a great way for MPs and Peers to discover information which the government may not wish to reveal. Ministers reply via written answers, a list of which gets published daily.

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