The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46089, if his Department will collect information on the number of babies born in transit between Stafford and Stoke Royal University Hospital.
Mr Philip Dunne
We have no plans to ask NHS Digital to collect such information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what position the UK’s representatives at the (a) Trade Policy Committee and (b) Foreign Affairs Council have taken on the replacement of the Investor State Dispute Settlements mechanism with an Investment Court System in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Anna Soubry
On 16 September, the European Commission published a draft of its proposed text for the investment protection provisions in the EU-US free trade agreement, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
In discussions on these proposals with the European Commission and Member States, UK representatives have expressed support for the European Commission’s ongoing initiative to reform the investment provisions used in its trade and investment agreements. UK representatives have also raised questions of detail on how the proposed text will continue to safeguard governments’ right to regulate lawfully and in the public interest, while ensuring that UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments.
The final content of the investment protection provisions in the EU-US free trade agreement will be subject to the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the US. The inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not threaten the right of the UK or Devolved Administrations to regulate or determine public policy. The Commission has published a proposal for reforms to investment protections in this agreement, which includes a clause setting out governments’ right to regulate.
The UK will work with the Commission on this proposal to ensure that UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments while allowing governments to regulate lawfully and in the public interest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health who sit on internal or external working or steering groups with representatives from Action on Smoking and Health.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Acting Deputy Director and Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) attended a dinner, hosted by the American Cancer Society, to celebrate the Luther. L. Terry award for Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry which was presented to the UK on 19 March at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health (WCTOH). Representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), as past recipients of an award in 2012, were also present.
The Acting Deputy Director presented at the WCTOH in March 2015 and the Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) presented at the E-cigarette Summit in November. Representatives of ASH also presented at these independent events.
The Deputy Director for Tobacco Control is a member of Public Health England’s Tobacco Control Implementation Board, which also includes a representative from ASH in its membership.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on reducing net migration to the tens of thousands.
James Brokenshire
Uncontrolled mass immigration increases pressure on public services and can drive down wages. That is why our ambition remains to cut net migration to sustainable levels. We continue to work across government to reduce net migration outside of the EU and seek reform in Europe to reduce the pull factors behind EU migration. Building on the measures in the Immigration Act 2014, our new Immigration Bill will address illegal working, the availability of public services which help migrants remain here unlawfully and will extend our ‘deport first appeal later’ approach to ensure that even more illegal migrants are removed from the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of functional areas of the existing HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) IT Aspire contract for which any HMRC plan to create a GoCo capability would not require TUPE transfers of staff.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has reviewed a number of options when considering the transition from Aspire. Due to commercial confidentiality, the Department is not in a position to give more details of its plans at this stage. HMRC’s ultimate aim is an operating model that has the right mix of technology, processes and skills, delivered in a multi-sourced model.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016 will be added to his Department’s Treaty Series 2016.
Mr David Lidington
The Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union, will be published in the Department’s Treaty Series.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation his Department conducted prior to the launch of its consultation on infected blood: reform of financial and other support.
Jane Ellison
We developed proposals in the consultation document based on a wide range of views we have heard over time including via numerous debates, representations from Members and several inquiries conducted by Parliamentarians.
In addition, an independently facilitated meeting was held on 5 October 2015 with some members of three groups (Tainted Blood, the Contaminated Blood Campaign and the Haemophilia Society). The aim was to further inform the Department’s understanding of what matters most to members of these groups in terms of financial and non-financial support. A separate meeting was held in November with members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, where we sought views on proposals for reform ahead of consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent and impact of the number of defendants in criminal cases appearing without representation as revealed in the report by Transform Justice Justice Denied? The experience of unrepresented defendants in the criminal courts.
Lord Faulks
Data on litigants in person in Magistrates’ Courts is not centrally recorded. There has been no change in the scope or eligibility for legal aid in the magistrates’ courts since means testing was introduced in 2006.
Legal aid is available, where necessary, for both magistrates’ and Crown Court cases, subject to defendants being means tested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the total cost of fees, facilitation costs and enabling works for HS2 in each year since 2010.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The table below sets out the spend on HS2 in each year since 2009/10. Data for 2015/16 is currently provisional and so is not included.
|
|
2009/10 |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
Total HS2 |
9.43 |
24.3 |
54 |
207.6 |
318.2 |
362.7 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what responsibilities his Department has for (a) formulating and (b) overseeing regulation of the shale gas industry; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman
Responsibility for formulating and overseeing regulation of the shale gas industry has been transferred to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Department will fulfil the same role previously undertaken by the Department of Energy and Climate Energy.
The Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound. The Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering concluded that risks can be managed if industry follows best practice enforced by regulation [1]. We already have one of the most robust regulatory regimes in the world for shale gas and we will look to continuously improve it as the industry develops.
[1] The Royal Society and The Royal Academy of Engineers, Shale gas extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing, 2012