The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to transfer operational command and control of the EU units from all other departments to the Department for Exiting the European Union.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Department for Exiting the European Union will be made up of staff from various departments across Government, including from the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research his Department has recently undertaken into the potential benefits of increasing paternity leave for men.
Margot James
In 2011, the Coalition Government consulted on a number of options to modernise employment entitlements relating to families. This led to the introduction of Shared Parental Leave and Pay for working parents; and the provisions in the Children and Families Act 2014 which enable Ministers to make Regulations to extend paternity leave and increase the rate of pay.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were admitted to mental health hospitals outside of their home local authority area in (a) England and (b) London in each of the last five years.
Alistair Burt
Information on the number of patients who were admitted to mental health hospitals outside their home local authority area in England and London in each of the last five years is not available. However, information on the number of people in non-specialist mental health beds treated out of area between September 2014 and July 2015 is set out in the attached table: the number of people in non-specialist mental health beds, placed out of area at the end of the month, for England and London Providers, September 2014-July 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron in each year since 2010.
Penny Mordaunt
Each year since 2010 the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron (RNGS) has consisted of two SCIMITAR Class Patrol Boats, HMS SCIMITAR and HMS SABRE and three Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs). It is also frequently bolstered by Royal Navy vessels transiting the region.
Since 2010 there have been 22 stationed personnel which were increased by five temporary augmentees following a pattern of increased Spanish incursions in 2012. After a review in 2014 the number of personnel was permanently uplifted to 26.
The following table represents the financial expenditure incurred by British Forces Gibraltar in support of the RNGS in each year since 2010.
Figures are in millions.
|
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
1.3 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
1.5 |
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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 of his meetings with Rupert Murdoch in June and September 2015.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what costs have been incurred by his Department for the current advertising campaign on the national living wage.
Nick Boles
The total budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign is £4.95 million. The campaign will run until the end of April and we expect to come in under budget.
The Government’s new National Living Wage is a step up for working people, so it is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1 this year. Britain deserves a pay rise and as a One Nation Government we are making sure it gets one. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at employers, and workers currently earning the National Minimum Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will place in the Library a copy of the representations which Natural England made in response to the (a) proposal in the draft Christchurch local plan for housing development on green belt land at Marsh Lane, Christchurch, and (b) planning application by Dorset County Council for a two-form entry primary school on green belt land at Marsh Lane, Christchurch.
Rory Stewart
Natural England made two formal responses to Christchurch and East Dorset Council authority about the proposed housing at Marsh Lane which are attached
Subsequently we provided Dorset County Council (DCC) with advice on the proposed New Christchurch Primary School in relation to the Habitats Regulations Assessment undertaken by DCC. Our response is also attached.
Planning documents related to the New Christchurch Primary School, Marsh Lane, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 2NH (8/15/0665) can be accessed via this link: http://countyplanning.dorsetforyou.com/ePlanningOPS/.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the National Food Crime Unit’s annual budget is allocated to investigating serious crimes.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) is initially focusing on establishing the scale and nature of food crime in the United Kingdom at a strategic level through developing intelligence sharing relationships across the law enforcement community and with the food industry. This will also enable the Unit to instigate investigative interventions by law enforcement partners and local authorities to identify and disrupt specific instances of food crime. The NFCU’s budget is directed towards fulfilling this primary intelligence function.
Intelligence analysts within the Unit have just completed the first ever Food Crime Annual Strategic Assessment (FCASA), which will be published soon. The FCASA sets out the Unit’s developing understanding of food crime in the UK and will drive its work to ensure resources are focused where the threat to consumers and other interests is the greatest.
At the end of this year, the Food Standards Agency will review progress on food crime, in line with Professor Elliott’s recommendations following the horsemeat incident. This review will inform decision-making about the Unit’s future form and function.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to support research into mesothelioma.
George Freeman
The Government agrees that more mesothelioma research is needed and has taken measures to stimulate an increase in the level of research activity.
Patients, carers, clinicians and funders have worked in partnership to identify what the priorities in research are. Following a survey and a workshop, the top 10 mesothelioma research priorities were announced in December 2014. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) published a final report from the Priority Setting Partnership in July 2015. In advance of the identification of research questions by this partnership, the NIHR highlighted to the research community that it wanted to encourage research applications in mesothelioma.
The NIHR subsequently invited researchers to apply for mesothelioma research funding, in particular to address the research questions identified through the partnership. Eight NIHR programmes participated in this themed call. Fifteen individual applications were received, of which two have been approved for funding.
In addition, the NIHR Research Design Service continues to be able to help prospective applicants develop competitive research proposals. This service is well-established and has
10 regional bases across England. It supports researchers to develop and design high-quality proposals for submission to NIHR itself and also to other national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.
The National Cancer Research Institute is facilitating ongoing dialogue between relevant research funders on the topic of mesothelioma, to discuss what the barriers to research are and what is needed to stimulate research in the field.
The Chancellor’s Budget Report committed £5 million of LIBOR fines over the next four years for the National Mesothelioma Centre.
The Department has received recent representations relating to funding of mesothelioma research from the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK and from several hon. Members on behalf of constituents.
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, what proportion of his Department’s £350 million projected savings by 2020 he expects to be achieved as a result of the decision to centralise policy functions in London.
Joseph Johnson
Delivering the scale of change required to reduce our operating expenditure by £350m requires the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to fundamentally transform the way it delivers services, works with partners, and makes policy. To help deliver this substantial saving we will be reducing our locations from around 80 sites to 7 business centres, one of which will be the combined policy centre and headquarters in London. The decision to establish this policy centre forms part of this much larger reform programme. The Department estimates that establishing a policy centre will generate savings of at least £7.5m per year by 2019-20, and it will also better enable the Department to operate a more flexible, agile and easily re-deployable policy function which will continue to deliver BIS’ priorities as it reduces in size over the course of the Parliament.