The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish minutes or a statement of the topics of discussion at the dinner attended by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury hosted by Tolley in May 2015.
Mr David Gauke
I attended the dinner in May 2015 in a personal capacity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many workers who were transferred from the public sector to the private sector under previous privatisations will be covered by the Government’s proposed changes to exit payments in the Enterprise Bill.
Greg Hands
The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.
The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf
The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.
The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.
Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 27033, which governments within the EU support further political integration.
Mr David Lidington
As I said in my response of 23 February 2016 (PQ 27033), there is clearly support in some governments within the European Union for further political integration, but there are other, more sceptical voices too. The recital in paragraph one of section C makes clear that “the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the Treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of co-mingled recycling collection in the light of the recycling target of 50 per cent of municipal waste by 2020.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Local authorities are best placed to determine local collection arrangements. From January 2015, under the Waste (England and Wales) (amendment) Regulations 2012, waste collection authorities were required to collect separately paper, plastic, glass and metals unless it is not necessary in order to provide high quality recyclates or its not technologically, environmentally or economically practicable to do so.
As part of a wider study by WRAP to assess the factors influencing the recycling performance of local authorities it was concluded that very little certainty could be applied in establishing a difference in recycling performance between dry scheme types where schemes were collecting the same set of dry recyclable materials. This analysis considered data reported by local authorities for the year 2012/13 and the report is available on WRAP’s website.
With input from WRAP, Defra has considered a number of options for achieving higher recycling rates and this work has assumed a range of collection approaches as reflected by current practice. The work being taken forward to identify opportunities for greater consistency in recycling collections provides a further opportunity to consider the effectiveness of collection options in terms of contribution to national recycling rate, quality of material collected and cost effectiveness. This work will be reported on later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from academics and health experts on the health benefits and disadvantages of vaping.
Jane Ellison
The Department engages with a wide range of interested parties with views on e-cigarettes and vaping. The Department will continue to listen to all parties to inform our decisions as well as drawing on the reports such E-cigarettes – an evidence update published by Public Health England in 2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 May 2016 on BIS consultation, HCWS30, whether his Department considered alternative solutions to closure of his Department’s Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place to address the strain on organisational effectiveness caused by split-site working.
Joseph Johnson
During the consultation period the Executive Board listened to views from staff, unions, as well as local stakeholders about the Combined Policy Headquarters model. It considered various alternatives, including options which maintained split site working in different ways, before coming to its final conclusion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the Government’s commitments on the number of refugees to be granted access to the UK at the UN General Assembly Summit on Refugees and Migrants in September 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government has no plans to introduce additional pathways for refugees to come to the UK. The UK is already a leading resettlement state, offering a number of safe and legal pathways for refugees. In the year ending June 2016, a total of 3,439 people were resettled in the UK.
In addition to the 20,000 Syrian refugees and up to 3,000 vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North Africa region that the Government has committed to resettle by 2020, the UK has also committed to relocate unaccompanied refugee children from France, Greece and Italy. Under the family reunion policy we have reunited around 22,000 refugees with their immediate family over the past five years and will continue to do so. The Government supports the principle that those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. This allows vulnerable persons to receive help quickly rather than risking their lives on hazardous journeys into and across Europe or falling victim to criminal gangs who are exploiting the situation. Providing humanitarian aid in the region is the best way to provide much needed support to the majority of those fleeing persecution while working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resettle the most vulnerable who cannot reasonably remain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts and officials in the Irish government and the Northern Ireland Executive on trade and export opportunities in (a) Northern Europe, (b) the US and (c) Asia Pacific countries.
Greg Hands
On 1st August 2016, my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade held meetings in Belfast with Northern Ireland Executive First Minister Arlene Foster MLA and Minister for the Economy Simon Hamilton MLA. A range of topics were discussed including growing exports for Northern Ireland and establishing new UK trading relationships around the globe. During these constructive discussions he underlined the importance that he places on the Department for International Trade serving the whole of the United Kingdom.
The Department for International Trade continues to engage with Republic of Ireland officials, collaborating on trade and exports including most recently at the meeting of UK Permanent Secretaries with their Republic of Ireland Counterparts in London on 7 October.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Neill on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what payments have been made to the devolved administrations under the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme to date; on which date each such payment was made; what methodology is used to calculate the level of such payments; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
The Government recognises that the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) payments that companies make under the 2014 scheme in respect of the United Kingdom need to be allocated to each of the devolved administrations in a fair way.
The PPRS payments that companies make under the scheme in respect of the UK are allocated to each of the four countries on an agreed basis each year. Apportionment is not covered by the terms of the PPRS. However, the four countries agreed the current method for apportioning income received under the 2014 PPRS which is based on primary care data for spend on licensed branded medicines, as the most consistent data set available across the UK. Income is apportioned using prescribing data for the same period as the income relates.
The attached table includes the quarterly PPRS income paid to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales from Q1 2014 to Q2 2015. It should be noted that as well as PPRS payments this income also includes historic cash payments made by companies that were members of the 2009 PPRS.
As requested, the following table contains information regarding the dates PPRS payments were made to the devolved administrations:
|
PPRS Payment |
Historic Cash Payment |
|
|
2014 Q1 |
21 August 2014 |
10 October 2014 |
|
2014 Q2 and Q3 |
20 February 2015 |
20 February 2015 |
|
2014 Q4 |
8 April 2015 |
8 April 2015 |
|
2015 Q1 |
3 July 2015 |
24 July 2015 |
|
2015 Q2 |
13 October 2015 |
16 October 2015 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how he plans to reinvest the savings achieved by phasing out the commitment bonus for members of the armed forces in the armed forces.
Mark Lancaster
The savings generated by the decision to phase out commitment bonuses for the Armed Forces form part of the overall Ministry of Defence efficiency package for this Parliament.
As detailed in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Cm 9161), efficiency savings will enable investment in a broad range of high-priority capabilities such as counter-terrorism and military surveillance to help protect the UK and our interests abroad, the procurement of a fleet of maritime patrol aircraft to increase further the protection of our nuclear deterrent and our new aircraft carriers, and funding to ensure our Armed Forces continue to be provided with the equipment they need and force protection when they are deployed.