The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times she has visited Northern Ireland since 1 January 2014; and what the length was of each such visit.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I have visited Northern Ireland 14 times since 1 January 2014. On two occasions the length of the visit was a day, on ten occasions the length of the visit was two days and on two occasions the length of the visit was 3 days.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of mango lots or number of shipments infested by tephriditae were rejected by Fera in each of the last five years; and from which source country each infected shipment was exported.
Dan Rogerson
The ban was imposed following persistent interceptions of plant pestson imports of Indian produce into the European Union (EU) and critical reports from the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office audits in 2010 and 2013. Despite assurances from India in response to these reports the level of interceptions remained high. The EU’s decision to introduce a ban was therefore fully justified and supported by all Member States including the UK, in line with our policy of strengthening plant health controls. Therefore, no alternatives to a ban were considered by Defra.
Protecting plant health is a key Defra objective. Plant pests and diseases such as those intercepted from India in recent years can cause serious damage to the UK glasshouse industry which is worth over £300 million per annum. However, I am aware of the importance of the mango trade and Defra officials are liaising with the Indian High Commission on what support the UK can offer to India to help it ensure compliance with EU import requirements.
The following table shows the number of consignments of mangoes imported into the UK in the last five years which were infested with Tephriditae (and therefore rejected) by country of origin. The European Commission is considering similar measures to those taken against India for other countries with high levels of interceptions of plant pests. Such consideration takes account of findings from all Member States, and covers all plant commodities and all pests identified.
|
Year |
Country of origin |
No. of consignments imported into the UK |
No. of consignments infected with Tephritidae |
|
2010 |
Dominican Republic |
351 |
1 |
|
|
India |
1977 |
1 |
|
|
Jamaica |
228 |
3 |
|
|
Pakistan |
3302 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2011 |
Dominican Republic |
417 |
2 |
|
|
India |
1836 |
11 |
|
|
Jamaica |
262 |
3 |
|
|
Pakistan |
3690 |
19 |
|
|
Puerto Rico |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Sri Lanka |
144 |
1 |
|
|
Uganda |
138 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2012 |
Bangladesh |
146 |
1 |
|
|
Brazil |
445 |
1 |
|
|
Costa Rica |
70 |
2 |
|
|
Dominican Republic |
606 |
18 |
|
|
Ghana |
628 |
15 |
|
|
India |
3448 |
23 |
|
|
Jamaica |
332 |
24 |
|
|
Kenya |
2044 |
4 |
|
|
Pakistan |
5128 |
81 |
|
|
Philippines |
12 |
2 |
|
|
Sri Lanka |
189 |
10 |
|
|
St Lucia |
50 |
1 |
|
|
Thailand |
1050 |
3 |
|
|
Uganda |
104 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2013 |
Brazil |
316 |
3 |
|
|
Dominican Republic |
756 |
16 |
|
|
Ghana |
357 |
4 |
|
|
Guinea |
7 |
1 |
|
|
India |
3563 |
13 |
|
|
Jamaica |
516 |
17 |
|
|
Kenya |
1654 |
17 |
|
|
Pakistan |
5910 |
47 |
|
|
Puerto Rico |
104 |
1 |
|
|
Sri Lanka |
111 |
3 |
|
|
U A E |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Vietnam |
77 |
1 |
|
|
|
||
|
2014 (to 18/06/14) |
|
||
|
|
Brazil |
106 |
1 |
|
|
Dominican Republic |
420 |
3 |
|
|
Ghana |
271 |
1 |
|
|
India |
401 |
1 |
|
|
Jamaica |
464 |
9 |
|
|
Kenya |
698 |
7 |
|
|
Mexico |
61 |
1 |
|
|
Senegal |
4 |
1 |
|
|
Sri Lanka |
69 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
Source: Fera and Europhyt
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what formula is being used to distribute (a) the £185 million fund to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather announced and (b) the £200 million Challenge Fund announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2014 Budget Statement.
Mr Robert Goodwill
(a) The distribution of the £185 million provided to help repair local roads damaged by severe weather is described table below.
(b) Funding formula for the £200 million Challenge Fund announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2014 Budget Statement.
£32 million is being provided directly to the devolved administrations as a result of the Barnett formula. It is a matter for the devolved administrations how their shares of the funds are used.
On 24 April 2014 English local highway authorities were in invited to bid for a share of a £168 million Pothole Fund to repair local roads.
Local authorities wishing to apply for a share of the funding are required to submit an application to the Department for Transport by 22 May 2014. Details of the application are available to view via:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pothole-fund-2014-to-2015-application
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his priorities are for renegotiating UK membership of the EU.
Mr David Lidington
The Government’s priorities are to reform the EU so that it is more flexible, competitive and democratically accountable. We want to see further deepening of the Single European Market, especially in services; an ambitious and sustained drive to cut red tape, and successful free trade negotiations with the United States, Japan and other countries. We are also seeking greater powers for groups of national parliaments to block or review EU legislation; an end to benefit tourism, and the development of Economic and Monetary Union in a way that safeguards the interests of countries which have chosen not to join the Euro. The Government has already made progress in delivering reform, including cutting the EU budget for the first time and securing reforms of the Common Fisheries Policy that include a ban on discards and a shift to the regional and local management of fisheries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many days were lost due to illness among Jobcentre Plus staff in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years.
Mike Penning
DWP has robust and effective measures in place for managing sickness absence and has succeeded in cutting sickness absence from an annual average of 11.1 days per employee in 2007 to 6.9 days per employee currently. To place this in context the Civil Service average is 7.6 days.
Jobcentre Plus was re-structured and absorbed into a revised Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Operations structure in October 2011. Since that point, it has no longer existed as a separate organisation. This means the information beyond September 2011 is not available.
In accordance with cross government arrangements; the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reports sick leave expressed as average working days lost (AWDL) per employee, over a rolling 12 month period
The following table shows Jobcentre Plus AWDL for 2009/10 and 2010/11. Information was not available for the period April to September 2011 because this was less than a 12 month period.
|
2009/10 |
2010/11 |
|
|
UK |
8.8 |
8.6 |
|
Scotland |
8.2 |
7.3 |
|
West Lothian LA Area |
9.6 |
7.4 |
|
Livingston Constituency* |
10.9 |
6.1 |
*Information by Parliamentary Constituency is not held directly but information is available by office, therefore we have created a combined figure for the two offices in the Constituency – Livingstone Jobcentre and Broxburn Jobcentre.
To put these reductions into context, if Average Working Days Lost in DWP was still at the level it was in 2007, the Department would be paying over £27.5m more in sick pay than it is at present.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the development of the HIV/STI national clinical audit; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) commissions and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme on behalf of NHS England. The HQIP has asked for expressions of interest from suitable providers who are able to design and complete a one year feasibility study to inform any future national clinical audit of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The contract for the work will be awarded this summer. NHS England cannot disclose the number of expressions of interest that have been received at this stage as this is commercially sensitive information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Smith on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that the staging dates for automatic enrolment for workplace pensions are being effectively communicated to businesses in Skipton and Ripon constituency.
Steve Webb
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has responsibility for educating and enabling employers in order to maximise compliance. TPR is writing to employers 12 months and 1 month prior to their staging date to alert them to their new responsibilities.
Where an employer provides an email address to TPR they will also receive a series of emails informing them what stage they should be at and signposting guidance and tools that have been provided by the Regulator. This includes an interactive planning tool to assist employers in getting ready, a staging date tool to find out your staging date, and detailed guides. They have also established a customer support centre for employers to discuss any questions they may have.
An advertising campaign aimed at employers has also been used to raise awareness and guide employers to the regulator’s website to help them in their preparations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what criteria his Department differentiates a food for special medical purposes and a food supplement.
Jane Ellison
The Department’s role and the definition of these products are set out in legislation. Information on this legislation is available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-supplements-guidance-and-faqs
www.gov.uk/government/publications/infant-formula-and-foods-for-particular-nutritional-uses-parnuts-notification-requirements
Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of the legislation and provide advice to businesses on compliance with legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-04-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received on illegal pump imports into the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Michael Fallon
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
We have had no representations on illegal pump imports. The National Measurement Office (NMO) is the designated Market Surveillance Authority for the UK for products subject to regulations made under the Ecodesign for Energy -related Products Directive, including those for pumps. It takes an intelligence-led and risk-based approach to market surveillance; any evidence of illegal imports should be sent to the NMO (https://www.gov.uk/placing-energy-related-products-on-the-uk-market) for follow-up and appropriate enforcement action.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on how many UK-based registered users of the paedophile file sharing network website boylover.net have been identified by international authorities in (a) the US and (b) Holland; what proportion of those was passed to UK authorities for investigation; what steps her Department is taking to trace those registered users; and if she will make a statement.
Norman Baker
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given on 19 June 2014, Official Report, columns 666-667W.
Following two linked international investigations into the boylover.net
website, information was provided to the Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre (CEOP) by US authorities and Europol that related to UK-based
registered users. CEOP was, at that time, an affiliate of the Serious Organised
Crime Agency. We do not maintain a record of the number of UK-registered users
of the website identified by United States or Dutch authorities, nor of what
proportion of those users were passed to CEOP. However, as a consequence of the
information provided and through CEOP’s own investigations, 240 intelligence
packages were prepared and subsequently disseminated to police forces across
the UK. Further information regarding charges, convictions and open
investigations is handled at a local level by the relevant police force and
is not recorded nationally.