The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeffrey M. Donaldson on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department asked local authorities in Northern Ireland to apply to host Armed Forces Day in 2017.
Mike Penning
|
It is a matter for local authorities to decide whether to apply to host Armed Forces Day in 2017. |
||||||
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations she has made to planning authorities in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Republic of Ireland on the proposed 400kV North-South electricity interconnector between County Tyrone and County Meath.
Mr Ben Wallace
Non-nuclear energy policy is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the Carbon Capture and Storage Development Forum sponsored by her Department to meet next.
Andrea Leadsom
I am attending the next meeting of the Carbon Capture and Storage Development Forum later this month.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the use of laser pen technology in proximity to aircraft and airports.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Specific legislation prohibiting the use of laser pens against aircraft has been in place since 2009. Under Article 222 of the Air Navigation Order (2009), it is an offence to “direct or shine any light at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot of the aircraft”. Breaches of this article can be punished by a fine of up to £2500.
In addition, under Article 137, it is an offence to “recklessly or negligently act in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft, or any person in an aircraft”. If convicted, offenders could face up to a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent safety regulator, has established a working group with relevant public and industry participants to consider what further measures may help counter the threat from the misuse of laser pens. The Government will continue to monitor closely the outcome of this work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the likely change in the number of (a) children and (b) working-age adults who will be in households with net equivalised income below 60 per cent of the median (i) before and (ii) after housing costs, not including the effect of transitional protection for claimants migrated onto universal credit, in 2020-21 as a result of changes to universal credit work allowance announced in the Summer Budget 2015.
Priti Patel
The impact of the work allowance change cannot be considered in isolation – it is part of a broader package of measures announced at the Summer Budget which were updated for the Autumn Statement. This included the increase to the personal tax allowance and introduction of the national living wage. Taken together, these reforms are designed to support people into employment and then enable them to progress in work and generate more income for themselves.
Universal Credit is a key element of these reforms. It is designed to ensure that work always pays. The single taper rate means people have a clear incentive to work, and to work more.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority after its authorisation of a licence for gene editing of human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 on the process of ethical approval being granted for such a licence.
George Freeman
The Department has not had any discussions with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) after its authorisation of a licence for gene editing of human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 about the process of ethical approval being granted for such a licence.
The Francis Crick Institute, which made the licence application to the HFEA, is intending to place copies of the information given to patients or donors explaining this research on its website, once the final draft has been agreed.
There is no statutory requirement for ethical approval to be in place before an HFEA research licence can be granted. However, the HFEA has developed guidance for its licensing committee that such approval should be in place before a licence is granted and research is allowed to proceed.
In 2012, none of the three licences granted had ethical approval in place and a condition was therefore placed on each licence that licensed research could not proceed until such approval was in place. In 2013, five research licences were granted, all of which had ethical approval in place. In 2014, seven licences were granted, all of which had ethical approval in place. In 2015, one of the 15 licences granted did not have ethical approval in place and a condition was therefore placed on the licence that licensed research could not proceed until such approval was in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29817, whether her Department holds information on the number of children who have been further assessed after the strength and difficulties questionnaire score suggested that there may be a problem with that child’s mental health.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Department does not hold information on the number of children who have undergone further assessment following the completion of a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
The Government has made available £1.4 billion over five years to implement the blueprint set out in Future in mind to transform children’s mental health services, including for those looked after and other vulnerable groups. Together with the Department of Health and working with NHS England and others we are establishing an expert group to develop care pathways that will support an integrated approach to meeting the mental health needs of looked-after children.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will introduce a duty on shareholders of a significant size to address executive pay and company performance and increase those shareholders’ reporting requirements to pension trustees.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bird on 2016-06-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Office for National Statistics report on the levels of (1) persistent, and (2) overall, poverty rates in the United Kingdom, what new actions they intend to take to eradicate poverty and the causes of poverty in this Parliament.
Lord Freud
This Government’s welfare reforms are focused on supporting people to find and keep work whilst ensuring that we are protecting the most vulnerable. At the end of the Parliament we will be spending over £60bn – 3% of GDP – supporting people on low incomes.
We know that work is the best route out of poverty. Evidence shows that almost three-quarters of poor workless families who found full employment escaped poverty; and that the highest poverty exit rate of 75% was for families that moved from part to full employment. The number of children living in workless households is down by 449,000 since 2010
Our new life chances approach to poverty and disadvantage will include a set of indicators to measure progress in tackling the root causes of poverty such as worklessness, educational attainment and family stability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to support all businesses in the UK to best take advantage of the opportunities presented by the EU referendum result.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
We remain committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to start and grow a business and build an economy that works for all. The best way of supporting business is to ensure that the economic fundamentals are strong. Employment is at a record high, there are almost a million new businesses in our country since 2010, and the budget deficit has been reduced by almost two thirds.
The BEIS ministerial team have during the summer met businesses, investors, workers and local leaders in all four home nations, as well as travelling to India, China and Japan.
Furthermore, and for the first time, each local enterprise partnership area and each of the devolved Administrations will have a specific Minister in my Department assigned to them. Personal relationships matter in business, and that should start with the Business Department.