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Tag: 2014

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had on how the Government will consult the public about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government regularly discusses the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with representatives from business, trade union, consumer and civil society groups. We will continue to seek to engage with all interested parties and provide information about the progress of discussions.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of start-up loans have been taken up by black and minority ethnic people in the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    As of 31st December 2014, 6,351 start-up loans with a value of £34.8 million have been drawn down by black and minority ethnic people. This equates to 25% of the total lent under the programme.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has made to the European Court of Justice in response to its consideration of the VAT treatment of bitcoin transactions; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    No representations have been made to the EU Court of Justice regarding the VAT treatment of Bitcoin transactions.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK armed forces will be employed in training Iraqi and peshmerga brigades to fight against ISIS.

    Mr Mark Francois

    For several months we have provided training and equipment to Kurdish forces, including infantry, combat first-aid, sharp-shooting and counter-IED training. The National Security Council agreed in December that we should do further work to scope the additional assistance we could offer to the Iraqi military. At this stage no firm decisions have been made.

  • 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 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which free school projects pre-approved to open in September 2014 have since been (a) cancelled or withdrawn and (b) delayed; and what the pre-opening expenditure was for each such project.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Since 2011, 174 new free schools have opened across the country and around a further 80 are on course to open in September 2014. While free school proposers will have a preferred date for opening their school, the Department for Education does not approve projects to open in any specific year.

    The projects aiming to open in September 2014 or beyond that have been withdrawn are:

    1. Inspirar Academy

    2. Marco Polo Academy

    3. Oasis Community School Walthamstow

    4. On Track Chiltern

    5. Phoenix Free School of Oldham

    6. The Advance School

    7. Transforming Lives for Good

    No project was specifically approved to open in September 2014.

    Once the costs are finalised, the Department publishes the pre-opening expenditure for each free school project on the Departmental website.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Ugandan government and (b) his EU counterparts on the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Uganda of the sanctions against that country announced by the US administration on 19 June 2014 in response to the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

    Mark Simmonds

    We have consistently raised our concerns about the Act with the Ugandan Government. Most recently, the Secretary of State for International Development and the Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds MP, raised the issue with the Ugandan President on 6 May. The UK is working closely with international partners to register its concerns and to seek assurances about the protection of individuals. With our support, EU Heads of Mission in Kampala initiated strengthened political dialogue with Uganda under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement.

    The UK shares the concerns of the US and notes the US’s recent decision to apply existing visa mechanisms, redirect some healthcare support, end support for a community policy project, and cancel a military aviation exercise in response. The UK is engaging closely with civil society groups in Uganda to consult with them about the most appropriate next steps.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the degree to which the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane captive breeding facility.

    Mark Simmonds

    The elected government of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, has devolved constitutional responsibility for animal welfare and conservation including for legislation and policies governing the Cayman Turtle Farm. The UK is responsible for the international relations of the Cayman Islands and for their compliance with obligations arising under international law. The UK has extended the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to the Cayman Islands. The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is providing technical support and advice to support the Cayman Islands in fully meeting its international environmental and conservation obligations. The UK CITES Management Authority has not made a recent assessment of whether the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility, but did commission an independent investigation in 2002 in support of an application for registration as a captive-breeding operation under CITES, which found it was a humane facility.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason the NHS logo appears on the Optical Express website; what the relationship between Optical Express and the NHS is; whether NHS funding (a) is and (b) has been provided to Optical Express in order to carry out procedures on NHS patients; and how many NHS patients were referred to Optical Express by the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The current NHS identity guidelines only allow opticians to use the NHS logo on a poster in their premises. The guidelines are available at:

    www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk/all-guidelines/guidelines/opticians/introduction

    NHS England is due to take over responsibility for managing the NHS identity from the Department shortly, and we will be carrying out a thorough review of NHS identity guidelines during 2014-15.

    Optical Express receives NHS funding from NHS England for providing NHS sight tests and optical vouchers to qualifying patients. The choice of optician is a matter for individual patients who are able to use any optician offering NHS sight tests and they can also choose where they have their glasses dispensed.

    Other eye health services, over and above the NHS sight test, are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups, formerly primary care trusts. Neither the Department nor NHS England holds data on the number of patients who have received such services from Optical Express.

  • Yvonne Fovargue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Yvonne Fovargue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvonne Fovargue on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have suffered complications following knee and hip operations related to osteoarthritis in the last five years.

    Norman Lamb

    This information is not available. Although some information on post-operative complications experienced by osteoporosis patients following surgery of the hip and knee is available via the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) data collection, this only covers hip and knee replacement, and not the full range of surgical interventions. In addition to this, as PROMs is a voluntary reporting system the data published does not reflect the total number of osteoporosis patients having complications for all hip and knee replacements. More information on PROMS data can be found at the following link:

    www.hscic.gov.uk/proms

    “

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will place in the Library any correspondence her Department has received from the Serious Fraud Office on what steps it is taking to investigate reports referred to it by her Department that UK aid may have been channelled via CDC Group and Energy Capital Partners into companies linked to James Ibori; and if she will make a statement.

    Justine Greening

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Solicitor General on 15 July 2014, Official Report, column 592W.