Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the impact of changes in the level of interest rates on homeowners in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Government is working to support homeowners by driving down inflation which leads to lower interest rates. In doing this, the Government has already met its goal to halve inflation this year.
We are also supporting borrowers struggling with their mortgage payments through the Mortgage Charter, helping customers manage their mortgage payments.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what representations he has received from the Welsh Government on the fuel duty rebate scheme.
Answered by Guto Bebb
I have received no recent representations.
All areas that met the strict criteria around pump price, population density and the cost of fuel transportation were included in the extension to the rural fuel rebate scheme introduced in April 2015.
There are currently no plans to extend the scheme beyond the qualifying areas.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on how many occasions officials of his Department have contacted representatives of a foreign government to ask for an account of private meetings or discussions held between representatives of that government and Welsh Government Ministers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Crabb
On no occasion have Wales Office officials contacted representatives of a foreign government to ask for an account of private meetings or discussions held between representatives of that government and Welsh Government Ministers.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alun Cairns
Wales Office statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports), and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.
These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alun Cairns
Wales Office statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice (Table 10 of annual reports), and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.
These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used by each government department. More detailed figures for the constituent parts of section 38 are not readily available because our systems are not designed to provide a more detailed breakdown than is required for the published statistics.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by Alun Cairns
No guidance has been issued to Wales Office staff on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No.19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, about the application of section 38 of the Act. However, the Ministry of Justice as the lead Department on Freedom of Information requests has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance.