The government has now submitted its evidence to the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB), which outlines the pay proposals for all operational prison staff for 2017/18, following extensive talks with both the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) and the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA).

The Government respects and values the role of the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) as a compensatory mechanism for Operational staff within the Prison Service for whom the inducement to participate in industrial action is prohibited by law.

The PSPRB members are independently appointed through the Public Appointments Team and the panel makes independent recommendations having considered evidence from both NOMS, in agreement with wider Government, and trade unions.

All applications for leave to remain in the UK are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. We expect those with no legal right to remain in the country to leave. Mrs Clennell has had no legal basis to remain in the UK since July 2014.

Mrs Clennell has spent the majority of her life, including her married life, in Singapore. She was granted indefinite leave to remain in 1992 but this lapsed after she went on to live outside the UK for more than two years. Mrs Clennell last entered the UK as a visitor in 2013 and went on to make an application to remain as the spouse of her husband in 2013. This was refused and her appeal rights were exhausted on 10 July 2014. It is right that we expect those with no legal right to remain to leave the UK.

The UK unreservedly condemns the use of torture or inhuman treatment. We work hard with our international partners to eradicate this abhorrent practice. We have consistently made clear our absolute opposition to torture and our determination to combat it wherever and whenever it occurs.

Preventing torture and tackling impunity for those who torture are essential components of safeguarding our security and are integral to a fair legal system and the rule of law.

The UK abides by its commitments under international law and expects all countries to comply with their international legal obligations.

The UK Government, including the intelligence and security agencies, never uses torture for any purpose, including to obtain information.

As in any circumstances, if anyone has evidence of any wrongdoing, that should be brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities for investigation.

The Government has considered the impact on all benefits and tax credits rates that are included in the four year uprating freeze. The Government has published an impact assessment at:

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf

We are currently running a consultation on our proposals which end on 28th February 2017. The US ban has not yet come into force, but we will continue to monitor its progress and look to learn any lessons from its approach.

Prison Rules require prisons to actively encourage prisoners to maintain outside contacts and meaningful family ties.

Prisoners also have a statutory entitlement to send and receive letters and are entitled to one free letter to inform someone they are being transferred. They are also given the access to make a telephone call on the day of their arrival to a new prison to inform their family of their new location if they have not been able to do so in advance. It is the prisoners’ responsibility to advise their family if they are transferring to another prison.

The prisoner can make an appeal through the complaints system and is entitled to a reply, which should provide clear reasons for their decision. If they are not satisfied with their response they can write to the Prison Ombudsman. Families can also raise any concerns directly with the Prison.

Any healthcare provider which is a charity and using their property wholly or mainly for charitable purposes will be entitled to 80% mandatory rate relief. Charities in the healthcare sector make an important contribution to our society and it is right they should benefit from mandatory rate relief.

NHS properties, like almost all other buildings occupied by public bodies, have been subject to non-domestic rates since they were introduced. Operational costs related to property are taken into account at spending reviews in determining the overall level of funding for the NHS.

A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support for the minority of properties which face an increase in rates as a result of the 2017 revaluation, and applies equally to public bodies such as the NHS.

Any healthcare provider which is a charity and using their property wholly or mainly for charitable purposes will be entitled to 80% mandatory rate relief. Charities in the healthcare sector make an important contribution to our society and it is right they should benefit from mandatory rate relief.

NHS properties, like almost all other buildings occupied by public bodies, have been subject to non-domestic rates since they were introduced. Operational costs related to property are taken into account at spending reviews in determining the overall level of funding for the NHS.

A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support for the minority of properties which face an increase in rates as a result of the 2017 revaluation, and applies equally to public bodies such as the NHS.

The Treasury sets an allocation related to the costs of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme in the Northern Ireland Executive’s Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) budget, proportionate to the budgets set in AME for the departments which manage the schemes in Great Britain. Any costs in excess of this AME budget are managed by the Northern Ireland Executive from its block grant or other sources of funding available to it.

The Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and not the Northern Ireland Office. The Northern Ireland Audit Office has responsibility for the financial and value for money audit of central government bodies in the Northern Ireland Executive.

To date Cornwall, a single, large unitary authority is the only area to agree a non-mayoral devolution deal with government. As a result their devolution package is not as expansive as those deals which have included commitments to establish Mayoral Combined Authorities, for example Cornwall has not received a Gainshare fund.

With regard to future devolution, it is for local areas to develop their proposals and share these with government.

Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy Ministers have met with a number of energy supply companies to discuss a wide range of issues.

Consumers without access to the internet can shop around to find a better deal for their energy by using any price comparison company which is accredited to the Confidence Code administered by Ofgem and provides a free telephone price comparison service. In addition Citizen Advice offers advice and support on energy switching.

The Government has made it clear that it wants to see companies treating all of their customers fairly – not just those who switch.

An area’s governance arrangements must provide the accountability and leadership which is proportionate to the scale of powers and budgets being devolved.

The details for negotiating the UK’s exit from the EU will take some time. The status of pensioners will need to be carefully considered and state pensions will be considered carefully as part of the negotiations.

The issues relating to Lough Foyle date back to a 1662 charter of Charles II, which granted the waters and bed (as well as the fisheries) of Lough Foyle to the Irish Society, and included them as part of County Londonderry.

In practice, the regulation of activities in the Lough is now the responsibility of the Loughs Agency, a cross-border body established under the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

We remain fully committed to these arrangements and continue to work closely with the Irish Government over improvements to the management of the Lough. Like the Irish Government, we do not anticipate these issues forming part of the negotiations over the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Government policy is that exposures to electromagnetic fields from Wi-Fi and other radio equipment should comply with the guidelines on limiting exposures from the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

The former Health Protection Agency published a comprehensive review of the evidence prepared by its independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation in 2012. The Group’s overall conclusion was that although a substantial amount of research has been conducted in this area, there is no convincing evidence that electromagnetic field exposures below guideline levels cause health effects in either adults or children.

Exposures from Wi-Fi equipment are well within the ICNIRP levels. Public Health England (PHE) advice is that there is no consistent evidence to date that exposures adversely affect the health of the general population. PHE has committed to keeping emerging evidence under review and preparing another comprehensive review when sufficient new evidence has accumulated.

These are matters for the local National Health Service.

Public Health England advises that the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) collects data on all primary cancers diagnosed in England. The report from Brain Tumour Research shows that there were 241 brain cancers diagnosed in the North East in 2014, and NCRAS data shows that there were 210 diagnoses in 2011.

NCRAS recommends that changes in cancer incidence are only compared using an age-standardised rate to ensure differences in the underlying population and changing age structure of an area are taken into account. The age-standardised rate of brain cancer incidence in the North East in 2014 was 9.5 per 100,000, and in 2011 was 8.4 per 100,000. As the number of new diagnoses is relatively small, it is not possible to say that any differences over time, or between the North East and the England average, are outside of that expected by random variation.

These are matters for the local National Health Service.

Public Health England advises that the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) collects data on all primary cancers diagnosed in England. The report from Brain Tumour Research shows that there were 241 brain cancers diagnosed in the North East in 2014, and NCRAS data shows that there were 210 diagnoses in 2011.

NCRAS recommends that changes in cancer incidence are only compared using an age-standardised rate to ensure differences in the underlying population and changing age structure of an area are taken into account. The age-standardised rate of brain cancer incidence in the North East in 2014 was 9.5 per 100,000, and in 2011 was 8.4 per 100,000. As the number of new diagnoses is relatively small, it is not possible to say that any differences over time, or between the North East and the England average, are outside of that expected by random variation.

EU exit gives the UK an opportunity to review fishing regimes across all segments of the UK fleet and to assess how we can best support sustainable fisheries.

The Government looks forward to working with the Northern Ireland Executive throughout the negotiations process to ensure that this sector’s views are taken into account.