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Tag: 2014

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions he has raised the issues of child soldiering and progress on tackling it with his counterparts in other countries in the last two years.

    Mark Simmonds

    Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) is an important personal priority. I am leading a campaign to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers and to protect children from becoming victims of sexual violence in five priority countries: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, South Sudan, Chad and Burma. Over the last two years, I have raised this issue with counterparts in Chad, Sierra Leone and DRC, as well as most recently with the Somali President and the Minister of the Interior in South Sudan during visits in April this year. My Right Honourable Friend, Hugo Swire MP, also discussed the issue during a visit to Burma in January.

    During the recent End Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit, I hosted a Ministerial roundtable on CAAC attended by UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for CAAC. Ministers from Sierra Leone, DRC and Somalia underlined their commitment to ending the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures of the value of life and health were included in the evidence submitted as part of the Health and Safety Executive’s work with the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008.

    Mike Penning

    I refer my Rt. Hon. friend to the Written Answer I gave him on 2 July 2014 Official Report, col 643w.

    HSE does not apply cost-per-quality adjusted life year (QALY) thresholds. In the Regulatory Impact Assessment described in the evidence submitted by HSE to the Inter-Departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008, which is published in the Library, HSE used a value of £42,000 per QALY to estimate the benefits of the intervention. These were compared against the expected costs of the intervention in order to assess the potential net benefits to society.

  • Anas Sarwar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Anas Sarwar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anas Sarwar on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, in how many green infrastructure projects the Green Investment Bank has invested in Scotland.

    Michael Fallon

    The Green Investment Bank (GIB) has helped finance energy efficiency improvements at two distilleries in Scotland and expects to finance similar projects at further distilleries soon. GIB has also financed introduction of energy efficient lighting at NCP car parks across the UK, including a number located in Scotland, and GIB is in advanced discussions with Glasgow City Council to finance replacement of 10,000 old street lights in Glasgow with energy efficient LED lights, with the longer term aim of replacing up to 50,000 lights across the city. Full details about projects supported by GIB may be found on the bank’s website at www.greeninvestmentbank.com.

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  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) regular military and (b) civilian personnel were based in City of York in each year since 2008.

    Anna Soubry

    Information on the number of UK regular military personnel based in the City of York Unitary Authority area for each year from 2008 until 2013 is published in Ministry of Defence Quarterly Location Statistics Table 3.3a, available on The National Archives website:

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140116142443/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/combined/quarterly-location-statistics

    Information on the number of UK regular military personnel based in the City of York Unitary Authority area for each year from 2010 until 2014 is published in Ministry of Defence Quarterly Location Statistics Table 3.3a, available on the GOV.UK website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/location-of-all-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-quarterly-statistics-index

    Information on the number of UK civilian personnel based in City of York Unitary Authority area for each year from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2011 is produced in the table below:

    2008

    2009

    2010

    2011

    650

    680

    720

    640

    Information on the number of UK civilian personnel based in the City of York Unitary Authority area for each year since 1 April 2012 is now published in Ministry of Defence Quarterly Location Statistics Table 3.3a, available at the GOV.UK website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/location-of-all-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-quarterly-statistics-index

    Additionally, copies of the Quarterly Location Statistics are available in the Library of the House.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received regarding Pearson VUE’s delivery of QTS numeracy and skills tests.

    Mr David Laws

    There have been representations made by individuals and candidates regarding Pearson VUE’s delivery of the skills tests. These representations have been in relation to technical issues encountered by candidates at the time of sitting the test and requests for appeals where candidates feel there have been exceptional circumstances which should result in another attempt at the test in question being permitted. All representations of this nature are fully investigated by the Standards and Testing Agency.

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy towards Burma of the recently published brief by the Chin Human Rights Organisation entitled The state of freedom of religion or belief for Chin in Burma, 2013.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are aware of the Chin Human Rights Organisation and their report on freedom of religion and belief in Chin State. We are currently implementing some of the recommendations that the report makes to the international community, including regularly raising the importance of Freedom of Religion and Belief in discussions with the Burmese government.

    During my visit to Burma in January, I raised the full range of our human rights concerns with senior members of the Burmese government and called for religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue in a speech in Rangoon. Freedom of Religion and Belief was also discussed during the first EU/Burma Human Rights Dialogue in May 2014.

    Our Ambassador and Embassy officials meet regularly with representatives of all faith communities, both in Rangoon and in the wider country, including in Chin State. The UK has provided funding for interfaith dialogue to help build trust between communities – for example a project promoting peace building among youths from different faith groups.

  • Clive Betts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Betts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Care Act 2014 and the care and support statutory guidance, what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on the action they should take if they receive evidence that self-funders and those with personalised care budgets are not paying social care firms enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments.

    Norman Lamb

    Self-funders and people with personal budgets whose care is arranged by their local authority have no obligations under the provisions of the Care Act 2014, draft statutory Care Act guidance or draft regulations on the Care Act, to show that they pay social care providers enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments. Social care providers must fulfil their legal obligations as employers which include ensuring that staff salaries conform to the national minimum wage.

    If a person chooses to request their personal budget as a direct payment to purchase their own care and support, the draft Care Act guidance details what the local authority should do as part of its general monitoring of the direct payment to ensure that the person fulfils their legal obligations as an employer. This includes ensuring that the person is registered as an employer with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and is making the appropriate contributions for PAYE and income tax, and that payments conform to the national minimum wage. Where it is apparent that these obligations are not being met, the local authority should review the care plan and making of the direct payment to ascertain if alternate arrangements need to be made that result in the person no longer being an employer (para 12.46-12.49, p172-73).

    The draft guidance and regulations on the Care Act are currently open for public consultation. The Department is also undertaking a series of engagement events with social care stakeholders to gather feedback on the content of the guidance and regulations.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Decision Notice of 14 May 2013 on the extension of the reserved legal activities, what discussions he has had with the will writing industry on strengthening existing regulation of authorised persons in this area.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    In the Lord Chancellor’s Decision Notice of 14 May 2013, as well as confirming that he had decided not to make will writing a reserved legal activity, he indicated that further efforts should be made to see if alternatives to regulation could be made more effective in improving standards in relation to will writing.

    Since then, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has taken a number of steps, with the intention of encouraging and supporting measures to improve standards, in both the regulated and unregulated legal service sectors.

    In relation to the regulated sector, the LSB has written to the approved regulators, to encourage them to take steps to address concerns about the quality of will writing by authorised persons. In May 2014, the Solicitors Regulation Authority issued guidance for solicitors on will-writing.

    In relation to the unregulated sector, the LSB convened a roundtable with industry stakeholders, including leading will writing trade bodies, in January 2014, to explore ways to improve the coverage and effectiveness of voluntary schemes and codes. At this roundtable, the LSB and stakeholders also discussed how to improve consumer information, to better educate consumers about the differences between regulated and unregulated will providers, and related protections and redress routes.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with a person aged 75 or over in (a) York Central constituency and (b) York Unitary Authority area were eligible for a free television licence in the last year for which data is available.

    Steve Webb

    The information requested is not held.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they have in the programme to contain the spread of Ebola.

    Baroness Northover

    To date, the UK government has contributed £897,324 to the Ebola Virus Disease response in the three affected countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia through multilateral partners and the DFID bilateral programme. In addition, DFID is finalizing arrangements to send out three Public Health England disease control specialists to Sierra Leone to support the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) response.

    In Sierra Leone, DFID funds are being used to support improved coordination at the national level; training and equipping of health workers competently to manage Ebola cases; improving EVD case detection and supporting appropriate radio messaging and community mobilisation activities on EVD prevention in affected districts. In Liberia, DFID has provided chlorine and other materials for hygiene and sanitising; and training in their appropriate use. Along with colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, we are closely monitoring the outbreak from Sierra Leone and Liberia (where we have DFID country offices) and internationally through Whitehall. We are working with WHO and national government agencies to improve our understanding of the outbreak and help to guide the response in-country and regionally.