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Tag: 2014

  • Joe Benton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Joe Benton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joe Benton on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, With reference to the findings of his Department’s Abortion Statistics 2013, published in June 2014, paragraph 2.4, that 81 per cent of abortions in that year were carried out for single women, if he will take steps to reduce the abortion rate by encouraging couples to stay together.

    Jane Ellison

    51% of the women classified as “single” in Abortion Statistics 2013 were in a relationship but not married or in a civil partnership.

    More broadly, the Government’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England (March 2013) highlights the importance of building knowledge and resilience amongst young people so they have the confidence and emotional resilience to understand the benefits of loving, healthy relationships and delaying sex.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department paid to (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Sodexo, (d) GEOAmey, (e) Capita, (f) Atos, (g) Mitie, (h) Working Links, (i) A4E, (j) MTC Amey, (k) GEO Group and (l) Carillion in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.

    Stephen Crabb

    As part of my Department’s transparency programme, any spend over £500 is available on the Department’s website. Since January 2011, all contracts over £10,000 in value are published on Contracts Finder: http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/.

    “

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that secondary ticketing websites abide by the requirements of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

    Jo Swinson

    My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not received any direct representations from representatives of the secondary ticketing websites on amendments tabled to the Consumer Rights Bill or about the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ guidance on them.

    Neither my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State nor other Ministers in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have had meetings with the secondary ticketing websites about the implementation of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 or the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ guidance on them.

    The draft Regulations and the contents of the Bill were widely consulted on and the Department received a range of comments in response. Officials from the Department have also had discussions with a wide range of stakeholders (including with secondary ticketing websites) on the implementation of those Regulations and the guidance on them.

    Following a consultation on the draft regulations, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills has produced guidance on the requirements of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. This guidance is easily accessible on the gov.uk website. Officials have also worked with the Business Support Helpline, which offers free advice to business on a wide range of issues, including regulation, and with the Trading Standards Institute (TSI), as the primary body responsible for educating businesses on consumer law. TSI has also produced guidance which is available on their website. Consumers themselves are important in driving compliance and officials have worked with Citizens Advice to raise consumer awareness so that they can see when businesses are not abiding by the requirements of the regulations.

    The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has also actively promoted the changes in the Regulations across all sectors through seminars, presentations and communications to businesses.

    Ministers in the Home Office, Department for Culture Media and Sport and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have discussions and correspond together on a wide range of issues, and this has included agreeing the content of the Consumer Rights Bill. Officials from those Departments are in regular contact, including regarding the issue of resale of tickets.

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of pay outs under the War Pensions Scheme to forces personnel and veterans on the grounds of mental ill health has been in each year since 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    It is not possible to provide the total value of payouts under the War Pensions Scheme to forces personnel and veterans on the grounds of mental ill health as the information is not held in a format that would enable us to easily answer the question and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    However, between 2011-12 and 2013-14 there were a total of 1,655 awards made under the War Pension Scheme for a mental health condition related to Service.

  • Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that council tax support funding is passed on from billing authorities to parish and town councils in 2014-15.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 5 February 2014, Official Report, Column 19-21WS, which sets out clearly the Government’s intention that the element of localised council tax support funding provided to local authorities which reflects reductions in town and parish tax bases should be passed down to those councils.

    I additionally wrote to Leaders of billing authorities on this issue on 6 January and 21 February 2014.

    The design and management of council tax support schemes is a local matter, and it is for local councils to work together to ensure that any relevant impacts are understood and taken into account.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 284W, on children: day care, if he will estimate the average annual cost of childcare in the UK for a child aged (a) two and under and (b) three to four using his Department’s Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents 2012-13 data.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents report provides information on the average (mean and median) amount paid by families for childcare in a reference week for pre-school age children. This information is not available broken down by age or on an annual basis.

    This information could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Food Standards Agency’s submission to the Inter-Departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review and all evidence submitted to the series of interviews with his Department’s staff conducted by researchers from the University of Leeds in 2008.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    I refer my Rt. hon. Friend to the answer given on 26 June 2014, Official Report, column 283W.

  • Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Harrington on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contingency plans he has in place to deal with an outbreak of Ebola virus in the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Health Service has plans in place to deal with patients with infectious diseases as part of its core business. This includes plans to manage patients in line with infection control procedures, and where necessary in highly specialist infectious diseases facilities.A patient with Ebola virus infection would be cared for in the national High Level Isolation Unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London. In the unlikely event of an outbreak involving more than two people, specialist staff at this unit are trained and prepared to look after patients safely in an isolation ward, which would be dedicated for this purpose.

    In the UK, the procedures outlined in the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens guidelines, “The Management of Hazard Group 4 viral haemorrhagic fevers and similar human infectious diseases of high consequence”, are followed for any suspected case.

    Public Health England has assessed the risk of importation of Ebola in the UK as very low. It is extremely unlikely that an outbreak of Ebola would occur in the UK even if there was to be an imported case, as there are factors operating in West Africa which would not be seen in the UK.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the statement of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 206, on student visas, on what date her Department first became aware of the systematic cheating taking place in the tests of the Educational Testing Service.

    James Brokenshire

    Since the last election, the Government has taken action to reduce and control
    immigration and to crack down on the abuse of the system which the previous
    government failed to address. We have kept the main immigration routes to
    Britain under review and remain vigilant against abuse of the student visa
    system. Around 750 education sponsors have been removed from the register of
    those entitled to bring overseas students to the UK. We now know that almost
    400 of these were linked to the sponsorship of people who obtained invalid ETS
    certificates. Abuse of the student visa route has been the subject of various
    lines of inquiry for some time, but Immigration Enforcement officers, together
    with officials from UK Visas and Immigration and with the support of the
    National Crime Agency, began conducting a detailed and wide-ranging
    investigation into actions by organised criminals to falsify English language
    tests provided by ETS at the start of February.

  • David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Ward – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK aid to Burma is channelled through Burmese government-approved organisations or mechanisms.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    The UK does not provide funding directly to the Burmese government. We publish details of which organisations receive DFID funding, and how much they have received, on the gov.uk Development Tracker.