Tag: 2014

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason callers to NHS England’s EHIC renewal line are assumed to agree to data-sharing if they do not hang up, whilst other government departments require legal data-sharing gateways.

    Jane Ellison

    The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) administers the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) application system and telephone line.

    Applicants for EHIC cards are asked to agree to share their application details for the purpose of validating EHIC applications and claims (for which information is shared with the Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) and in order to prevent and detect fraud and errors (for which information may be shared with NHS Protect and the Department of Health – International Division). The agreement of customers to share their data is sufficient under the Data Protection Act. No personal medical or clinical data is shared as part of this process.

    Callers to the EHIC telephone service are assumed to agree to share their application details. We acknowledge that the current telephone message advising callers about data sharing could be clearer. The NHS BSA has undertaken that they will not share any further EHIC data which is gathered through the telephone service, until the message has been updated.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of small and medium-sized businesses were registered in each parliamentary constituency; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the last five years.

    Michael Fallon

    There is no central register of businesses. Companies House does have a register of companies but it cannot determine the number of companies classified as small and medium sized as defined by the Companies Act 2006. Information on companies registered in each parliamentary constituency could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what account her Department took of the timing of school holidays in Scotland in formulating plans to deal with passport application delays.

    James Brokenshire

    Each year Her Majesty’s Passport Office plans its capacity, taking into account
    the likely level of demand during specific periods, including the run-up to school
    holidays.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the likely reduction to the block grant for Northern Ireland in the current financial year arising from lack of progress on welfare reform.

    Danny Alexander

    I have written to the Northern Ireland Minister for Finance and Personnel setting out that the Treasury will reduce Northern Ireland Executive budgets to reflect savings foregone as a result of the lack of progress on welfare reforms already in place in the rest of the United Kingdom. For 2014/15 those estimated savings are £87m and in 2015/16 they will rise to £114m.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) Serco and (b) G4S will be permitted to bid for community rehabilitation company contracts.

    Jeremy Wright

    G4S and Serco decided to withdraw from the competition to select lead providers of rehabilitation services.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 322-3W, on unmanned air vehicles, whether the training of UK personnel in the six countries identified has involved unmanned aircraft actively engaged in operations.

    Mr Mark Francois

    Training of UK personnel in the six countries identified has not involved unmanned aircraft actively engaged in operations. Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) training has only ever occurred in non-operational environments, specifically the countries listed in my previous answer on 27 March 2014. Army UAS actively engaged in operations have always been, and continue to be, remotely piloted solely by fully trained personnel operating on the ground in the country in which the operation is active. This has only been in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what circumstances offenders can choose not to attend a parole board meeting when a victim reads a victim personal statement.

    Jeremy Wright

    The victims of serious violent and sexual offences, where the offender has been sentenced to 12 months or more, may opt into the statutory Victim Contact Scheme, operated by the National Probation Service. Where they do so, they will be informed of a Parole Board review and offered the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement (VPS). The VPS provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the offence has affected them or their family, both at the time it was committed and since, and how they think the offender’s release would affect them. The VPS can contribute to a better and more informed hearing, as it may enable more robust questioning of the offender about the offence, remorse and victim empathy.

    The independent Parole Board is responsible for the conduct of parole hearings. The normal practice is that the offender will not be present when the victim reads his/her VPS, but there may be circumstances where he/she will be. In many cases, the victim does not wish the offender to be present during the reading. Whilst the conduct of an individual hearing is for the Chair of the Panel of the Parole Board, the Chair cannot insist that the prisoner attends to hear the VPS being read if s/he does not wish to do so. No estimate has been made centrally of the proportion of offenders present at the hearing when the VPS is read out.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what involvement his Department had in overseeing the activities of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in awarding the Magnox/RSRL contract; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for running the competition to secure a new Parent Body Organisation for Magnox Ltd and Research Sites Restoration Ltd in line with its statutory duties and responsibilities under the Energy Act 2004. The competition is run in strict accordance with UK and EU procurement regulations. Oversight and governance is provided by the NDA’s Competition Programme Board, on which the Government is represented by the Shareholder Executive (on behalf of DECC), HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK. Formal Government approval will be required before the contract can be awarded in September.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to increase the number of British overseas electors registered to vote.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it runs public awareness campaigns to encourage British expatriates to register to vote; the most recent took place ahead of the European elections this year.

    Two briefing notes, which included details of the campaign, were circulated to hon. Members in advance of the elections. These notes are available on the Commission’s website here:

    · www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/164449/Elections-May-2014-briefing.pdf

    · www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/165893/The-elections-on-22-May-2014-Briefing-note-2.pdf

    The Commission intends to run a similar campaign ahead of the 2015 General Election. It is currently evaluating the performance of its 2014 campaign to identify improvements that could be made for the General Election campaign. The Commission will ensure that a copy of the evaluation is sent to the hon. Member when it has been completed.

    “

  • Stephen Phillips – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Stephen Phillips – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the threat to the UK’s environment from invasive alien plant species.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Non-Native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain sets out our mechanism for addressing non-native species, including plants. The strategy includes a comprehensive risk assessment mechanism to assess the potential negative impacts of non-native species, including threats to the environment. To date 126 risk assessments have been completed or are in progress. Of these, 58 are plant species.