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  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Bridgend; and whether she has been subject to surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

    As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

    The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals for stricter laws dealing with people who abuse animals.

    George Eustice

    There are a number of existing laws, most notably the Animal Welfare Act 2006, that already provide enforcement agencies and courts with suitable powers to investigate and deal with people who are found to have abused animals.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people died on the roads in each region in incidents where a driver was using a mobile telephone in each of the last three years.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department holds information on the number of personal-injury road traffic accidents where the attending police officer judged that a driver using a mobile telephone contributed to the accident. This includes both cases where ‘hand held’ and ‘hands free’ telephones were deemed to contribute to the accident. The table below provides the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents that were reported to the police in which at least one driver was allocated the contributory factor ‘driver using mobile phone’ by region for 2012 to 2014.

    Fatalities in reported road accidents in which the contributory factor ‘driver using mobile phone’ was reported: GB, 2012-2014

    Region

    2012

    2013

    2014

    North East

    2

    1

    1

    North West

    1

    2

    1

    Yorkshire and the Humber

    2

    5

    1

    East Midlands

    1

    1

    4

    West Midlands

    2

    2

    0

    East of England

    1

    2

    3

    South East

    3

    2

    9

    London

    1

    0

    1

    South West

    2

    4

    1

    Wales

    1

    2

    2

    Scotland

    1

    5

    1

    Total

    17

    26

    24

    Note: Includes only casualties where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported

    “

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide assistance to companies in training personnel to gain HGV qualifications.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is responsible for funding the Trailblazer apprenticeships programme and the industry is developing a standard for an HGV Driver apprenticeship. Funding for obtaining an HGV licence is not currently in scope of Trailblazers but this is under review. BIS will consider what the new funding model will be with the introduction of the new apprenticeship levy.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of HGV drivers in the UK relative to demand.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department recognises that there is a high demand for HGV drivers in the UK and that there is a shortage, manifesting itself in pressure on costs, delays to some deliveries and the recruitment of people from outside the UK.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to increase the number of HGV drivers.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department is working with its motoring services agencies to reduce times and delays in obtaining a driving test appointment and medical licence renewals.

    Other government activity is helping jobseekers join the industry, retraining ex-military personnel and supporting apprenticeships.

  • Nigel Huddleston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nigel Huddleston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Government has provided in Start Up Loans in Mid Worcestershire constituency since their creation.

    Anna Soubry

    Up to the end of September 2015, 20 Start-Up Loans have been issued in the Mid Worcestershire constituency at a value of £107,810.

  • Neil Gray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Neil Gray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2015-10-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a kinship carer with more than two children in their care, either their own children or under a kinship arrangement, and who receives tax credits, will be affected by the decision not to permit an additional claim for the credits for a third child.

    Damian Hinds

    The Welfare Reform and Work Bill already allows for prescribed exemptions to apply to this policy. The government will set out further details in due course.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will roll out a national breathlessness campaign to follow the pilots in the North and East of England.

    Jane Ellison

    The regional pilot of the breathlessness campaign was carried out in the East of England 2 February – 1 March 2015. The evaluation of the campaign is ongoing.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that carers are able to give each patient an appropriate amount of time on visits.

    Alistair Burt

    In most cases, very short visits from care workers are incompatible with high quality care. However, short visits may be appropriate in certain circumstances. For instance, checking medication has been taken.

    Local authorities are responsible for the commissioning of services, not the Government but both Government and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) agree that inappropriately short home care visits are unacceptable.The Care Act sends a clear message that commissioning services without properly considering the impact on people’s wellbeing is unacceptable.

    In September 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines on homecare which state that homecare visits should not normally be less than 30 minutes long. The Department published statutory guidance to the Care Act which directs local authorities when commissioning to consider national standards including NICE guidelines.

    Further, the Department worked with ADASS and the Local Government Association (LGA) to produce a framework of standards, ‘Commissioning for Better Outcomes’ which explicitly states that inappropriate use of short visits is not compatible with best practice. The framework is designed to support local authorities to improve their commissioning practices using self-assessment and peer challenge through the LGA’s programme of sector-led improvement.