The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department plans to monitor and assess the effect of the revised anti-lobbying clause beyond 1 May 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
In line with guidance provided by the Cabinet Office, the Department will monitor compliance with this clause in the same way as other contractual terms and conditions, and will consider enforcement action where necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the fairness of the (a) licence fee and (b) initial overcharge for those paying the licence fee by direct debit.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The BBC’s funding has been a central issue in the Charter Review process, and this has included consideration of the fairness and affordability of the licence fee, and the ways in which it can be paid. David Perry QC’s independent report on TV Licence Fee Enforcement highlighted that current payment plans, set out in regulations, inhibit the ability of TV Licensing to help those on lower incomes by offering alternative, more manageable payment schemes. The conclusions of his report have been considered as part of the wider Charter Review process, and the government’s position on these issues will be set out in the forthcoming White Paper.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to take account of the levels of satisfaction with pay reported in the Regular Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey in his setting of pay policy for the armed forces.
Mark Lancaster
The new Pay 16 structure was specifically established in response to Service personnel criticisms of the old pay model. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has developed the new pay model as a simpler, more transparent system which provides Service personnel with greater pay predictability. It addresses some of the concerns about the previous pay model reported by personnel through both the Service Complaints system and the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) and in feedback from the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB). I fully expect these changes to be positive for morale overall.
Many personnel will experience an increase in pay as a result of the new pay model, and no one will take a cut in core pay on implementation. We have taken steps to ensure that personnel are aware of the range and nature of the pay reforms that began on 1 April 2016 and comprehensive internal communications activity has been undertaken to explain the changes. This included Departmental guidance to help personnel understand their new pay statement and any changes. Personnel, including those under pay protection, continue to remain eligible for any Government-approved pay award. Pay protection has been put in place to ensure that no one will take a pay cut on implementation of Pay 16 and this arrangement will exist for at least the first three years to ensure that no one is disadvantaged.
The new pay model is not designed as a cost saving exercise, but is a rebalancing of pay to make more efficient and effective use of the Armed Forces pay bill; the AFPRB will continue to recommend pay rates for all personnel. As we go forward the Service Complaints Process and AFCAS will be primary sources which inform our assessment of the benefits realised through the pay reforms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent staff from (a) his Department, (b) NHS England, (c) NHS commissioners, (d) NHS providers and (e) local authorities are working on the NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) for Coast, Humber and Vale; and how much has been spent to date on the Coast, Humber and Vale STP.
David Mowat
The information is not held centrally. The number of staff working on and resources allocated to local Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) will vary at different stages of the process. These are locally led health and care transformation programmes and resources relating to each STP will be determined at a local level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risks and potential human rights infringements arising from the repatriation of refugees from Sudan to Eritrea.
Lord Bates
Refugees and irregular migrants in the Horn of Africa are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation not only by people smugglers and traffickers but also by government authorities. The UK is using its position as current chair of The Khartoum Process to push for international agreement around improving the conditions of migrants in the Horn of Africa.
The Khartoum Process is a regional initiative bringing together the Governments of Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Libya and the EU, the UK, Italy, France, Germany and Malta to better manage migration in the region, including the protection of irregular migrants. The Khartoum Process has a strong emphasis on the protection of migrant rights and is at the centre of a plan of action agreed between African nations, the EU and EU member states.
The UK Government has voiced concern for the wellbeing of refugees returned to Eritrea from Sudan with both governments will continue to press them to treat refugees and asylum seekers according to international law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Syrian children in Europe who are (a) vulnerable to trafficking and (b) unaccompanied.
Mr Philip Hammond
As of 2 November the number of people arriving in Europe had reached 745,229 according to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Of these 149,045 are children, including around 79,000 Syrian children. Humanitarian organisations are expecting that, given the rate of arrivals, a total of 225,000 children will need assistance between September and December 2015. All of these are considered to be vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Maritime Information Centre holds live records on the range of merchant shipping that is UK-owned.
James Brokenshire
The National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) plays an integral role in the delivery of the UK National Strategy for Maritime Security. One of the NMIC’s roles is to monitor and track maritime activity around the UK and in areas of national interest around the globe in response to taskings from Government departments or agencies. This is achieved by using a variety of systems which include the interpretation of Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder data which enables the NMIC to identify and monitor all vessels transmitting on the AIS system. The systems available to the NMIC can identify all Red Ensign Group vessels using AIS, that is vessels registered on one of the international shipping registries operated by the UK (including a Crown Dependency or an Overseas Territory). There are vessels owned by UK entities that are registered in other states and therefore fly the flag of that state. It may not be immediately apparent that such vessels have a UK owner, however, they will still appear on the NMIC systems.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 11 January 2016, whether Northern Ireland will receive additional funding for mental health care as a result of the Barnett consequentials of the changes to funding set out in that announcement.
Alistair Burt
The additional funding referred to in the Prime Minister’s announcement of 11 January 2016 is part of the Department’s overall Spending Review settlement, as announced in the Autumn Statement on 25 November 2015.
The Spending Review also set out the block grant allocations for the Devolved Administrations in line with the application of the Barnett Formula to United Kingdom Government spending.
The actual allocation of public expenditure between the services under the control of the devolved administrations, including health, is for the devolved administrations to determine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many reserve police officers of the Royal Navy Police they estimate will be deployed in (1) 2015–16, (2) 2016–17, (3) 2017–18, (4) 2018–19, and (5) 2019–20.
Earl Howe
The number of Regular personnel in the Royal Navy Police (RNP) as at 1 April 2015 was 250 Royal Navy and 50 Royal Marines. The Maritime Reserve does not have a Police branch.
The forecast of Regular personnel in the RNP is as follows:
|
April 2016 |
April 2017 |
April 2018 |
April 2019 |
April 2020 |
|
|
Royal Navy |
250 |
250 |
250 |
250 |
240 |
|
Royal Marines |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
Notes:
1. Figures from April 2016 are estimates, calculated using 1 April 2015 information, of the future trained regular strength of RNP. Estimates are re-calculated annually using the latest information and therefore may change in future years.
2. All totals are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 with numbers ending in five rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid bias.
The RNP does not currently recruit from direct entrants; personnel transfer from within the Naval Service. There is a future programme to recruit from a mixture of internal moves and direct entrants; however, it is not possible at present to supply forecast figures for this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.61 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of families that will be eligible for tax-free childcare in 2016-17.
Damian Hinds
The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.
We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.
Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.
The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.