Written answers

Tuesday, 8 January 2019

  • Department for Transport

    • Humber Bridge: Tolls

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to remove tolls from the Humber Bridge.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Israel: Palestinians

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effects of Israel’s settlement expansion on the welfare Palestinian...

    • Israel: Bedouin

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to raise concerns with the Israeli Government on the imminent demolition of Khan al-Ahmar.

      British Nationals Abroad: Detainees

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s policy is on (a) consular access and (b) private visits by embassy staff for British nationals...

      Gaza: Israel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2018 to Question 201109, whether he plans to make representations to his Israeli...

      Syria: Kurds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold a meeting with political representatives of the Kurdish population in Syria to discuss that community's...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Pay: Greater Manchester

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of people in each parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester that are paid the (a) national minimum...

    • Civil Servants: Reviews

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2018 to Question 193470 on Ministers: Resignations, which Department monitors the number of independent reviews...

      Cabinet Office: Staff

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

      Homicide: Reoffenders

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people convicted of murder have committed the same crime again following their release from prison.

      Antisocial Behaviour

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many instances of antisocial behaviour have been recorded in each of the last 10 years.

      Elections: Digital Technology

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the subject of imprints for digital electoral material was discussed in meetings the Minister for the Consitution had with Facebook and Google...

      Electoral Register: Pilot Schemes

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any of the Voter ID Pilot authorities present at the meeting with the Minister for the Constitution in August 2018 raised objection to the pilots.

      Cabinet Office: Billing

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the change in the number of invoices his Department paid within 30 days in the 2017-18 financial year.

      Government Departments: Billing

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2018 to Question 185519, whether the move to the new shared service platform resulted in any payment delays in the...

  • Wales Office

    • Wales Office: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

  • Department for Education

    • Schools: Fires

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2018 to Question 183860 on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, and reports of high concentrations of toxins in the...

    • Languages: Curriculum

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has he made of the implications for the national curriculum of the findings of the British Council’s 2018 Language Trends Survey.

      Department for Education: Brexit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without...

      Higher Education: Student Numbers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2018 to Question 199283 on Disabled Students Allowances, how many full-time undergraduate students were domiciled...

      Disabled Students Allowances: Part-time Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2018 to Question 199283 on Disabled Students Allowances, if he will publish the information for part-time students.

      Disabled Students Allowances

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2018 to Question 199283 on Disabled Students Allowances, what the provisional figure is for 2016-2017.

      Disabled Students Allowances: Visual Impairment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 199284 on Disabled Students' Allowances: Visual Impairment, what support is available to...

      Disabled Students Allowances: Visual Impairment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 199284 on Disabled Students' Allowances: Visual Impairment, what steps his Department has taken...

      Children: Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support local leaders to deliver the best outcomes for children through the delivery of high quality...

      Social Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the sustainability of local authority children’s services budgets.

      Foster Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the 2016 strategy entitled Keep on caring: supporting young people from care to independence, when the Government plans to review...

      Social Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of level of funding from the public purse required by Birmingham City Council to deliver children’s services in (a)...

      Teachers: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how his Department is ensuring that funds allocated under the Teachers' Pay Grant for 2018-19 are being used to fund teachers' pay and not for any...

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Ministry of Justice: Brexit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a...

    • Prisons: Private Sector

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 200144 on Prisons: Private Sector, what estimate he has made of maintenance costs for each prison...

      Prisons: Private Sector

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 200144 on Prisons: Private Sector, how much of the £16 million investment in improving the...

  • Department for International Trade

    • EU External Trade: Trade Agreements

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2019 to Question 200631 on EU External Trade: Trade Agreements, how many and what proportion of third...

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Homelessness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what powers his Department has devolved to the Mayor of London to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping; and if he...

    • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

      British Counties Campaign

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from the British Counties Campaign; and if he will make a statement.

      Homelessness: Ilford

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will increase support to Redbridge Council to combat homelessness and rough sleeping in Ilford.

      Disabled Facilities Grants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for the publication of the independent review of disabled facilities grants.

  • Ministry of Defence

    • War Pensions: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, under what circumstances his Department reveals to a third party that an individual is receiving a war disablement pension.

    • International Military Services: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will instruct the directors of International Military Services Ltd to declassify their records using the same protocols that apply to his...

      Type 31 Frigates: Costs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much allowance he has made for taxes and national insurance in his Department's calculations of the cost of a Type 31e frigate with a set price of...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Jobcentre Plus: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Autism and Hidden Impairment training for Jobcentre Plus staff in...

    • Industrial Health and Safety: Funerals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the implementation of EU Directive 2004/37/EC on the funeral sector.

      Industrial Injuries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support the reporting of workplace injuries.

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes are in place to ensure that an individual who is serving in the armed forces is aware that the Child Maintenance Service is...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases from the (a) 1993 and (b) 2003 Child Support Agency schemes remain open.

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the March 2017 report of the NAO entitled Child maintenance: closing cases and managing arrears on the 1993 and 2003...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the March 2017 report of the NAO entitled Child maintenance: closing cases and managing arrears on the 1993 and 2003...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what record is made of (a) whom and (b) which Department has supplied information during the assessment of (i) Child Support Agency and (ii)...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long records of conversations relating to the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service by phone or email with employers...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many appeals to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman relating to the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service...

      Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on enabling registered medical practitioners to make clinical judgments about...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to respond to the National Audit Office report entitled Child maintenance: closing cases and managing arrears on the...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders were granted to the Child Support Agency in each of the last 10 years.

      Social Security Benefits: Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the procedure in the Child Support Agency is to report alleged benefit fraud to her Department.

      Social Security Benefits: Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of alleged benefit fraud were reported to her Department in each of the last 10 years.

      Child Support Agency: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are employed by the Child Support Agency.

      Child Support Agency: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements the Child Support Agency has entered into in each of the last 10 years.

      Carer's Allowance: Overpayments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the rate of penalties charged in cases of over payment of Carers Allowance were in each of the last five years.

      Department for Work and Pensions: Debts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to include debts owed to her Department in its new breathing space scheme.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Livestock: Transport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the transportation of livestock from the UK to the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a...

    • Fisheries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on confidentiality agreements signed by the owners of vessels used by CEFAS in...

      Water Voles: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his department has made of the reasons for the decline in the number of water voles in England; and...

  • Department for International Development

    • Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what commitments the UK is legally bound by as a result of signing up to the UN Global compact on migration.

    • Yemen: Armed Conflict

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the conflict in Yemen on that country's economy; and what steps her...

      Yemen: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen local service delivery in Yemen.

  • Department for Exiting the European Union

    • Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice over the rights of EU citizens will end.

    • Anguilla: Brexit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the Overseas Territory of Anguilla of the UK leaving the EU.

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Northern Ireland Office: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff were employed in her Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

  • Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

    • Political Parties: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the...

  • Department for Transport

    • Air Routes

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 20 December (HL12400), why the domestic services considered in the paper are limited to Heathrow; why...

    • High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their current estimate of the total cost of the construction of HS2.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many properties have been affected by HS2; and what is the total cost of compensation paid to the owners of those properties.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have finalised plans to link HS2 to Euston station and its surrounding infrastructure.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what quantity of spoil will be generated by HS2 construction work at Euston station; and how they plan to deal with its removal.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many trees have been felled to date in London to facilitate the construction of HS2.

      Electric Vehicles

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential contribution of electric scooters to a reduction in air pollution; and whether they plan to introduce...

      Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to publicise the results of roadside testing programmes for the latest models of diesel cars as part of their work to raise public awareness of...

      Railways: North of England

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether plans for the upgrade and electrification of the Transpennine rail route include provision for growth in the level of freight traffic; and if not, why not.

      Caledonian Sleeper Rail Franchise

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Scotland about when the Caledonian Sleeper train carriages were originally expected to be in service; and...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Nigeria: Violence

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the remarks by the Bishop of Gboko Diocese in Nigeria, William Amove Avenya, about the level of violence committed by...

    • Alex Badeh

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have about the assassination of Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, the former Chief of Defence Staff in Nigeria.

      Nigeria: Violence

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Institute for Economics and Peace Global Terrorism Index 2018, published in December, and its finding that...

      Iran National Steel Industrial Group: Arrests

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reported raids by Iranian intelligence and security forces on the homes of representatives of workers of Ahvaz Steel National...

      Diplomatic Service: Debts

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 December (HLWS1171), what steps they are taking to recover debts owed by diplomatic...

      EU Reform

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposals by Thomas Piketty in the Manifesto for the Democratization of Europe, published on 9 December.

      Government Hospitality: Wines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 December (HL12075), whether they will now answer the question put namely, in relation to the...

  • Department for International Development

  • Department for Education

    • Offences against Children: Rotherham

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will launch an inquiry into the removal of children from survivors of sexual exploitation in Rotherham; and if so, when.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Offences against Children

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they provide to impartial advocacy services to help the families of victims of grooming gangs.

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to assist private owner occupiers of properties that have hazardous cladding.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Universal Credit: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that disabled people receive sufficient support to make a claim for Universal Credit if they are unable to access the internet...

    • Universal Credit: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of support available to disabled people while making a claim for Universal Credit in the natural migration process.

      Universal Credit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the monthly estimates of new claims to Universal Credit through natural migration before July 2020.

      Universal Credit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of demand for home visits during the managed migration process; and what resource is available to ensure that this service is...

      Universal Credit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they anticipate take-up of income-related benefits to improve after the roll out of Universal Credit; if so, what improvement they anticipate; and over...

      Universal Credit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will ensure that a claimant deemed to be vulnerable will not have their legacy benefits stopped before a Universal Credit claim is completed under the...

  • Home Office

    • Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether and how indefinite leave to remain granted to successful applications under the current voluntary settled status application scheme for EU citizens will be...

    • Crime

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of government time spent addressing (1) Islamophobia and (2) grooming gangs in the last 12 months.

      Offences against Children

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether grooming gangs are still operating in Rotherham or elsewhere; and, if so, what steps they are taking to stop them.

  • Department for Exiting the European Union

    • Business

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Institute of Directors' statement, with other business groups, against a "no deal" Brexit.

  • Treasury

    • Service Charges: VAT

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the gain to HM Treasury from the introduction of VAT on the on-site staff based element of residential property service charges.

    • Cryptocurrencies

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to encourage the mining of crypto-currencies in the UK; and if so, what steps they are taking to support such projects.

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.

We let you vote on whether or not the answer given is adequate.

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