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647057

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Leader of the House
	answering dept id	34
	answering dept short name	Leader of the House
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House
	hansard heading	e-Petitions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House, what steps his Department is taking to assess potential changes to the system for e-petitions to ensure petitions submitted have evidential basis.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	55276
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2016 answer text <p>The Parliamentary e-petitions site is jointly owned by the Government and the House of Commons, therefore any assessment of potential changes to the system would have to be agreed between the Government and the House.</p><p>I have not had any discussions to assess such changes to the e-petitions system, however the hon. Member may find it reassuring to know that all petitions submitted are moderated by the staff of the Petitions Committee before being published and opened for signing by the public. The Committee staff ensure that all petitions adhere to the agreed standards which are clearly displayed on petition.parliament.uk. The final decision on the admissibility of an e-petition rests with the Petitions Committee itself.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 05/12/2016 14:23:14 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

647263

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Wills
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of designating will writing as a reserved legal activity.
	tabling member constituency	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Edwards
	uin	55155
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2016 answer text <p>In 2013 the Legal Services Board (LSB) recommended that will writing be made a reserved legal activity, so that only authorised persons under the Legal Services Act 2007 could provide this service. The then Lord Chancellor, however, considered that the evidence provided in the LSB report did not adequately demonstrate that reservation was the best solution to the identified problems in the will writing market, or that other measures had been sufficiently exhausted in seeking to address these problems. This remains the Government position.</p><p> </p><p>We will consider any recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) when they publish their Legal Services Market Study.</p> answering member constituency North East Hertfordshire answering member printed Sir Oliver Heald question first answered 06/12/2016 17:19:27 answering member 69 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Heald
	tabling member	3943 label Biography information for Jonathan Edwards

647302

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Welfare Tax Credits: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 6.2 of the Autumn Statement 2016, what the reasons were for the error which resulted in families with disabled children not being in receipt of their full tax credit entitlement.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	55270
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2016 answer text <p>To assist claimants, DWP shares information with HMRC to help identify those Child Tax Credits (CTC) claimants entitled to higher rate CTC because of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Child award. The clerical process to do this was not working as intended and resulted in a reduced number of clerical referrals from DWP to HMRC.</p><p> </p><p>Referral volumes are now back in line with expectations and there have been no further issues reported. We remain committed to taking all reasonable steps to make the process more robust.</p><p> </p><p>At the Autumn Statement the Government announced HMRC will put this right for claimants affected this year and claimants will receive a lump sum payment to reflect entitlement since 6 April 2016, and an on-going higher award.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 01/12/2016 15:43:47 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

647071

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Welfare Tax Credits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 6.2 of the Autumn Statement 2016, if he will make it his policy that HM Revenue and Customs reimburses claimants for each year that tax credits payments were affected by the error which resulted in families with disabled children not being in receipt of their full tax credit entitlement.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	55269
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2016 answer text <p>Claimants were able to claim the higher rate of Child Tax Credits (CTC) by informing HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of eligibility at the time an initial claim for or renewal of CTC was made. Accompanying guidance provided details of the eligibility requirements for this. In addition, claimants could call the relevant HMRC helpline at any time. Between April 2011 and April 2014, the number of working families claiming the disabled child element increased to 152,000, and has since risen to 169,000.</p><p> </p><p>It is the claimants’ responsibility to inform HMRC of their eligibility to the higher element of CTC. However, to help claimants claim the right amount HMRC’s backup practice is to take information from Department for Work and Pensions to automatically update tax credit awards. However, for the period in question, this information sharing process proved unreliable. Although legally HMRC are only required to backdate claims for 31 days on receipt of a notification or claim, at the Autumn Statement, the Government announced that HMRC would make corrections for this year for the customers it has identified who have not claimed. Customers will receive a lump sum payment to reflect entitlement since 6 April 2016, and an on-going higher award.</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 01/12/2016 16:15:42 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

647286

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Wales and Borders Rail Franchise
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the levels of customer satisfaction of passengers of the Wales and Border rail franchise.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	55093
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2016 answer text <p>The standard assessment of the level of customer satisfaction for train companies across Great Britain is undertaken independently by Transport Focus.</p><p> </p><p>Transport Focus undertake a National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) every six months. The latest results (Spring 2016) for Arriva Trains Wales reported overall satisfaction levels of 82%, unchanged from the result six months earlier.</p><p> </p><p>Details are on the Transport Focus website, a link to the summary results is as follows:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://d3cez36w5wymxj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/30101622/NRPS-At-a-Glance-Arriva-Trains-Wales-Spring-20161.pdf" target="_blank">http://d3cez36w5wymxj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/30101622/NRPS-At-a-Glance-Arriva-Trains-Wales-Spring-20161.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 06/12/2016 13:58:10 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

647283

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Wales Office
	answering dept id	28
	answering dept short name	Wales
	answering dept sort name	Wales
	hansard heading	Wales Office: Travel
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department has spent on ministerial travel in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	55143
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2016 answer text <p>The Departmental spend on ministerial travel since 2010 is set out below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Spend £</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>199,040</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>124,562</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>158,848</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>147,673</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>105,765</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>34,490</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The spend includes travel by rail, car and air for all Wales Office Ministers. In September 2012, the number of Wales Office Ministers increased from 2 to 3. The travel costs reduced in 2014-15, and further in 2015-16, with the former Secretary of State for Wales giving up use of his Ministerial car. The impact of these savings is shown in part in financial year 2014-15, and in full in financial year 2015-16.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Aberconwy answering member printed Guto Bebb question first answered 01/12/2016 17:29:06 answering member 3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

647285

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Wales Office
	answering dept id	28
	answering dept short name	Wales
	answering dept sort name	Wales
	hansard heading	Wales Office: Alcoholic Drinks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department has spent on alcoholic beverages in each year since 2009.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	55145
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2016 answer text <p>The Departmental spend on alcoholic beverages for official functions since 2009 is set out below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Spend £</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>308.66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>Nil</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>Nil</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>232.65</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>629.24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>347.29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>668.47</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department did not purchase alcohol in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The alcohol used at official functions in those years was from stock that had been purchased by the previous Administration. Ministers also purchased alcohol directly for some functions. The Department holds no records of Ministers’ personal expenditure.</p><p> </p><p>The increase in the total cost of alcohol purchased in 2012-13 to 2015-16 reflects the Wales Office’s increased profile in supporting and promoting business and economic investment in Wales e.g. the department hosted events to promote Welsh businesses and inward investment into Wales, and specific events to promote Wales International Shipping Week and commemorating the Dylan Thomas centenary.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Aberconwy answering member printed Guto Bebb question first answered 02/12/2016 12:01:51 answering member 3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb previous answer version 24164 answering member constituency Aberconwy answering member printed Guto Bebb answering member 3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

647224

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Iran
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the performance of VFS Global in providing visa services on behalf of UK Visas and Immigration in Iran.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
	tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
	uin	55084
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2016 answer text <p>UK Visas and Immigration regularly reviews the service provided on its behalf by Commercial Partners, and is satisfied with the service provided by VFS Global in Iran.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 01/12/2016 15:43:43 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss

647188

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Vegetables: Consumption
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to encourage increased consumption of vegetables.
	tabling member constituency	South Down
	tabling member printed	Ms Margaret Ritchie
	uin	55087
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2016 answer text <p>The Government recommends eating plenty of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy balanced diet. The national food model the Eatwell Guide, provides a visual representation of the types and proportions of the foods needed for a healthy, balanced diet, and depicts a diet rich in fruit and vegetables.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s 5 A DAY campaign which specifically promotes fruit and vegetable consumption was launched in 2003. The 5 A DAY message is embedded in the Eatwell Guide and communicated alongside other healthy eating advice through, for example the Change4Life campaign, the One You campaign and the NHS Choices website.</p> answering member constituency Oxford West and Abingdon answering member printed Nicola Blackwood question first answered 01/12/2016 09:26:22 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
	tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

647318

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Universities: North of England
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to paragraph 4.9 of the Government's Northern Powerhouse Strategy, published in November 2016, from which funding streams the £100 million spending to 2020-21 on incentivising university collaboration in tech transfer and working with business will be drawn; and how those funds will be distributed.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	55071
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2016 answer text <p>The Autumn Statement (para 3.31) confirmed that additional funding for science and research of £100 million will be provided until 2020-21 to incentivise university collaboration in tech transfer and in working with business. This will support universities working together across England on the commercialisation of research, with the devolved administrations receiving funding through the Barnett formula in the usual way. The funding for England will be allocated by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). We are working with HEFCE on options to support these activities. Funding will be allocated through competitive processes and mechanisms, complementing and building on established Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) mechanisms.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 14/12/2016 17:22:20 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone previous answer version 24141 answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle