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  • Margaret Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Greenwood on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the financial stability of foundation trusts.

    George Freeman

    The Department and Monitor make continual assessments of the financial performance of foundation trusts via a risk assessment framework which includes monthly reports to Monitor.

    Where necessary, interim financing may be provided. The Department will require the development and delivery of a recovery plan and trusts to sign up to a set of conditions aimed at delivering efficiencies.

    This Government will invest an additional £10 billion the National Health Service said it needs: £2 billion this year and a commitment to meet the £8 billion identified by NHS England in the Five Year Forward View by 2020.

  • Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospitals balance their budgets.

    George Freeman

    We are investing the additional £8 billion the National Health Service has said it needs to implement its own future plan, on top of the extra £2 billion we have given the service. However, additional spending is not the only answer to these financial challenges. The NHS must now put in place cost-control measures we have introduced, like clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies, while we continue to work with hospitals on ways to improve productivity and reduce waste.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Gavin Shuker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to tackle low pay in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Tackling low pay is part of the Government’s plan to move to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society.

    100,000 low-paid people in Northern Ireland, 13 per cent of the workforce, will directly benefit from the National Living Wage from April next year.

    A full-time worker on the current National Minimum Wage will be £1,200 better off as a result.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to improve public understanding of the legal framework applicable to social media.

    Jeremy Wright

    Judging by the number of referrals from members of the public to my office there is clearly some awareness of the legal framework applicable to social media but I have sought to increase this awareness by, for example, issuing online warnings on social media, including Twitter, in appropriate cases.

    In relation to the commission of criminal offences by social media users, the Crown Prosecution Service has also issued detailed guidelines to prosecutors on handling cases involving communications sent via social media.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether there is a process to allow hon. Members to view (a) limited and (b) other classified (i) Council and (ii) other EU documents on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    My officials are liaising with the Clerks of both the Commons and Lords European Scrutiny Committees to explore the scope and methods by which this information can be shared while still preserving the confidentiality of sensitive documents.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the US embassy in London on plans by that embassy to open a reading room to allow parliamentarians to read classified documents on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make representations to his US counterpart to enable such documents to be (a) placed in the Library and (b) made publicly available; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    A large number of documents related to these negotiations are available on the European Commission’s website on the page ‘EU negotiating texts in TTIP’. We are working with our counterparts in the European Commission and the US to both declassify as many documents as practicable and to give UK parliamentarians equivalent access to classified documents related to this agreement as that afforded to Members of the European Parliament.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2015 to Question 8779, whether the range of information sources HM Revenue and Customs uses to monitor the reported self-correction by employers participating in the new national minimum wage campaign includes speaking independently to the workforce and other relevant groups such as local trade unions.

    Nick Boles

    HMRC operate a risk based approach using a range of sources to monitor self-corrections in the national minimum wage campaign, this ‎includes contacting workers to ensure they have received the reported arrears.

  • MiDavies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    MiDavies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by MiDavies on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many enterprise zone bid applications have been received in each region.

    James Wharton

    I am delighted to confirm that we received 54 applications in the new Enterprise Zone bidding round by the closing date of Friday 18 September. The breakdown of applications is as follows;

    Area

    Number of bids received

    East of England

    6

    East Midlands

    9

    North East

    2

    North West

    9

    South East

    9

    South West

    8

    West Midlands

    6

    Yorkshire & Humber

    5

    TOTAL

    54

    In view of the number of applications received, it will be a very competitive process and only the strongest bids will be selected.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) value of arms export licences issued for Israel in the last year.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government publishes comprehensive information about export licences granted and refused on gov.uk.

    The Government has granted 167 licences for export of military goods and technology to Israel in the last year.

    Of these 163 were for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) with a value of £18,596,344 and 4 Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs).

    OIELs are generally not limited by quantity or value and therefore we are unable to give a figure for the value of the goods that might be exported under OIELs.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support UKTI is giving to British firms wishing to invest in Sri Lanka.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) team in the High Commission in Colombo (who cover Sri Lanka and the Maldives) provide advice to and support actual and potential UK investors. This can include advice on market opportunities, local partners and legal and regulatory requirements. They also offer the full range of UKTI services and support to British companies selling or looking for opportunities to sell goods and services in Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner regularly supports British companies, including by hosting and speaking at events and lobbying for them. The High Commission team works closely with the independent Council for Business with Britain, a trade grouping that many British investors in Sri Lanka are members of, to encourage and support continuing growth in business relations between the UK and Sri Lanka.

    The UK is consistently a top ten investor in Sri Lanka, ranking 7th in 2013, the latest year for which official figures are available. These investments range widely, from financial services to education, from traditional industries to cutting edge IT development.