The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what performance measures her Department has in place to assess the work of UK Visas and Immigration.
James Brokenshire
UK Visas and Immigration has published customer service standards, available on the gov.uk website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about/about-our-services#service-standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress has been made on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
The thirteenth round of negotiations for the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) took place between 20 and 24 April in New York. The next negotiating round is due to take place in July. We are making progress and our ambition remains to reach a political agreement during the Obama presidency.
The UK is working for an ambitious agreement that removes remaining tariffs between the EU and US, cuts the regulatory and bureaucratic barriers faced by our exporters without lowering our standards, and opens up opportunities for our businesses to compete for public procurement. We want a deal that is good for businesses of all sizes and for consumers.
In addition to the potential £10 billion annual benefit to the UK, TTIP provides an opportunity for the EU and US to shape the rules and standards for the global business environment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the EU Third Directive on Driving Licenses on the motorcycle assessment industry.
Andrew Jones
There has not been an assessment made of the effect of the EU Third Directive on Driving Licences (2006/126/EC) on the motorcycle assessment industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on issuing visas for overseas academies to participate in research at UK institutions (a) during negotiations on the UK leaving the EU and (b) once the UK has exited the EU.
Mr Robert Goodwill
There will be no immediate changes to the immigration status of foreign students or the way universities are able to recruit students. While the UK remains in the EU, European Economic Area and Swiss students will continue to have the same rights and status they had before the referendum. The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living and working in the UK, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU Member States were not protected in return.
The precise way in which the Government will control the movement of EU nationals, including students, to the UK after the UK has left the EU is yet to be determined and will be subject to the wider negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure private landlords do not exploit vulnerable tenants.
Brandon Lewis
We are determined to crack down on the small number of landlords that let unsafe and sub-standard accommodation. The Housing and Planning Bill will establish tough new measures, including a database of rogue landlords and property agents, banning orders for serious or repeat offenders, a stricter fit and proper person test, extending Rent Repayment Orders and introducing civil penalties of up to £30,000
In addition, we have made nearly £12 million available to local authorities to help them tackle rogue landlords in their areas. Since 2011, nearly 40,000 inspections have taken place with over 3,000 landlords facing further enforcement action or prosecution through renting out unsafe, squalid and often illegal property.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what additional training provision and schemes his Department plans to put in place to support job losses arising as a consequence of the national living wage.
Nick Boles
The 2015 spending review made provision for a major expansion of adult further education, to increase employment and productivity levels.
The Government has maintained funding for the core adult skills participation budgets in cash terms at £1.5bn and is also increasing opportunities in technical and professional education by doubling the level of spending on apprenticeships by 2019-20 in 2010-11 cash terms, including income from the new apprenticeship levy. It will be almost £900 million higher in 2019-20 than in 2015-16. By 2019-20, spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5 billion.
The combination of the levy, the protection of the AEB, the extension of advanced learner loans, and the introduction of the youth obligation means that by the end of the Parliament, the cash value of core adult FE funding to support participation will be at its highest ever. The total spending power of the FE sector to support participation will be £3.41bn by 2019-20, which is a cash terms increase of 40% compared with 2015-16 (real terms 30%).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the proportion of weekend retail transactions which have been conducted on a Sunday over the last three years.
Anna Soubry
On 9 March the Government published an impact assessment on Sunday trading which is available in the libraries of both Houses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, how much it costs to post a franked envelope from the House of Commons.
Tom Brake
The cost of postage for a bespoke DL sized pre-paid envelope, supplied to Members through the House provided stationery budget, is as follows:
1st class – £0.64
2nd class – £0.55
The cost of postage on a pre-paid envelope is the same as a stamp. Franked mail, used by departments of the House, is cheaper than pre-paid envelopes as franking is paid for in bulk and in advance which generates a slight discount to the price; costs are:
1st Class small envelope under 100g – £0.52
2nd Class small envelope under 100g – £0.39
1st Class large envelope under 100g – £0.81
2nd Class large envelope under 100g – £0.65
However, there are restrictions on where this can be sent from. 30 items or less can be sent from a standard post box but must be bundled and separated from standard mail; in excess of 30 items must be sent via a Post Office, Royal Mail Centre or Delivery Office or Business Post Box.
The list below details the different postage costs for envelopes which are available to Members through the bespoke stationery catalogue.
|
HC23-244S |
£0.55 |
|
HC23-245 |
£0.55 |
|
HC23-146S |
£0.64 |
|
HC23-246S |
£0.55 |
|
HC23-147S |
£0.64 |
|
HC23-247S |
£0.55 |
|
HC23-149WS |
£0.64 |
|
HC23-249WS |
£0.55 |
|
HC23-150 |
£5.50 |
|
HC23-151 |
£2.85 |
|
HC228 |
£0.55 |
|
HC129 |
£1.27 |
|
HC229 |
£1.20 |
|
HC130 |
£1.27 |
|
HC230 |
£1.20 |
|
HC3-16 |
£0.64 |
|
HC85 |
£0.55 |
|
HC86A |
£0.55 |
|
HC23-146EU |
£1.05 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS funding was provided to GP surgeries in each of the last five years
Alistair Burt
NHS England has confirmed that the funding it invests in general practice will increase by an average of 4.5% each year from 2016/17 to 2020/21.
The below table shows the proportion of spend on general practice for each of the last five years for which data is available. The figures for spend on general practice are taken from the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s Investment in General Practice 2011-2015 report, which is the most comprehensive source of data on investment in general practice. The NHS Revenue Expenditure data is taken from the Department’s accounts.
|
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
|
NHS Revenue Expenditure under Clear Line of Sight Rules (£ billion) |
97.47 |
100.27 |
102.57 |
106.5 |
110.56 |
|
Spend on general practice (£ billion) |
8.350 |
8.397 |
8.459 |
8.766 |
9.001 |
|
Spend on General Practice as a proportion of total |
8.6% |
8.4% |
8.2% |
8.2% |
8.1% |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure charities in receipt of public funds do not express a view on the forthcoming European Union Referendum.
John Penrose
The rules on campaigning at the referendum are set out in the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. There is no general restriction on institutions and organisations in receipt of public funds expressing a corporate opinion on the European Union Referendum. However, there are restrictions on organisations whose expenses are met wholly or mainly from public funds publishing certain material relating to the referendum in the final 28 days.
As the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission published guidance for charities on 7 March 2016 regarding the forthcoming EU referendum. This clearly sets out the threshold necessary to justify any charitable activity on this specific issue.