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Tag: 2014

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the railway is able to accommodate the transport of full-sized lorry trailers on trains.

    Claire Perry

    The only railway infrastructure in Britain that can accommodate a rail freight service carrying lorry trailers is HS1 between the Channel Tunnel and Barking, which can carry the standard international 4 metres semi-trailer. It represents 0.75% per cent of Britain’s rail route mileage.

    The 80% of the UK domestic semi-trailer fleet with a height of 4.25 metres or greater cannot be accommodated on trains in Britain. However, container goods can be accepted across the freight network, which carries some 1 million containers – 30% of total container freight in the UK – a year.

  • Earl Attlee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Earl Attlee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 October (HL2256), why 150 Recovery Company, part of 103 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, relocated from the Army Reserve Centre at Redhill to the one at Croydon, in the light of the fact that the related infrastructure developments had not progressed past the initial assessment phase.

    Earl Howe

    The relocation of 150 Company from Redhill to Croydon was part of the redesign of the Army Reserve as part of Future Reserves 2020 and Army 2020. In this case the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers were realigned to better integrate the Reserve component with their Regular Army partners. It also sought to maximise the potential for future recruitment, which in some cases necessitated the relocation of smaller units and sub-units.

    While it was recognised that the infrastructure of the Croydon Army Reserve Centre required some improvement, it was deemed no worse than that at Redhill Army Reserve Centre. Therefore, an early move was agreed to realise the wider benefit of an increased recruiting footprint, thus ensuring that 103 Battalion REME could grow in strength and maintain the critical mass necessary for effective training and therefore operational capability

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of development land with planning consent is controlled by central government departments.

    Brandon Lewis

    Whilst the Government does not hold this information centrally, it is committed to releasing surplus public sector land and property to deliver savings, and support economic growth, in particular housing. We are working with Departments to review and accelerate release of sites with capacity for up to 150,000 homes by 2020. We have also set up the Government Property Finder website which allows members of the public to map and search the Government Estate, including land and buildings for sale and rent.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what commitments on human rights in China he secured during the recent state visit to the UK by President Xi Jinping.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    In talks with President Xi, the Prime Minister, my rt hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) reaffirmed the importance we attach to the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. President Xi acknowledged the importance of improving human rights protection, and that China was ready for increased exchanges and co-operation on this issue with the United Kingdom. In the UK-China Joint Statement, Britain and China agreed to continue exchanges on human rights and rule of law. We will continue to pursue our human rights concerns both privately and in public fora.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the prevalence of trans fats in food.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no discussions with the royal colleges on measures to reduce the prevalence of trans fats in food.

    Population average trans fats intakes account for 0.6-0.7% of food energy, which is well within the public health recommendation of 2% of food energy, and within the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 1%.

    Voluntary action by industry has been successful in removing artificial trans fats from a range of processed products. Over 70% of the retail and manufacturing market has committed to remove or not use artificial trans fats.

    The European Commission’s report on trans fats intakes across the European Union, which is due to be published in December 2015, will inform our future thinking on trans fats.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations his Department has received on stem cell donation and transplantation.

    Jane Ellison

    A search of the Department’s central correspondence database has identified 99 items of correspondence received between 8 May and 27 October 2015 about stem cell donation and/or transplantation. Around two-thirds of this correspondence related to the Anthony Nolan report ‘Destination Care’.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential role of agroecology in African rural development.

    Grant Shapps

    Agro ecological approaches have an important role to play in specific contexts, including in Africa, but DFID does not prescribe technical approaches centrally. The best approaches for interventions are identified in consideration of the specific context of implementation. DFID is supporting a wide range of programmes with agro-ecological components, from soil and water conservation and land use management to climate resilience and conservation agriculture. On the research front, DFID supports the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security research programme as well as the Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Research and Learning in Africa. The Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme supports farmers to adapt agricultural systems to be climate resilient. The full range of our programmes can be found on our Development Tracker: http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/

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  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Prime Minister, when he plans to respond to the letter he received from the charity Memorial 2007 in May 2015 on funding for the Enslaved Africans Memorial in Hyde Park.

    Mr David Cameron

    My office has no record of a letter to me from the charity Memorial 2007 in May 2015.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the proposal from High Speed UK on high speed rail has been rejected.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The proposals suggested by High Speed UK are similar to the Reverse ‘E’ considered by HS2 Ltd in their 2010 report submitted to the Government on the demand and business case analysis of the alternative proposals. It was considered that this proposal could not offer better journey times from London/Birmingham to Manchester/Liverpool than HS2 trains continuing to the north-west from Lichfield via the West Coast Main Line. Ministers considered the advice presented and views from a wide range of sources, and based on the evidence the decision was taken to proceed with the ‘Y’ shaped network.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what ways his Department’s requirements for reassessment of continuing claims for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment by people with multiple sclerosis reflect the degenerative nature of that condition.

    Priti Patel

    The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) assesses individuals against a set of functional descriptors not specific conditions, as two people with the same condition can be affected in different ways. This does however take account of how fluctuating and degenerative conditions, such multiple sclerosis, affect a claimant’s ability to work.

    A healthcare professional gives advice on when they think a claimants functional capability may have changed sufficiently to trigger a change in the outcome of the WCA. Re-referral dates chosen can be 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 or 36 months depending on when it is considered most appropriate for the claimant to have their next contact with the Department.

    Decisions on claims to Personal Independence Payment are made by case managers and are based on advice received from the assessment providers following an assessment, together with any other evidence received. People with a progressive condition, and who are not expected to live beyond six months, are not required to attend a face-to-face assessment and their claims will always be decided on the basis of the evidence received.

    Claims to Personal Independence Payment are looked at individually, considering the impact on daily living and mobility of the impairment or health condition, rather than solely basing the decision on the impairment or health condition itself. Award durations and reviews are based on an assessment of whether the individual’s functional abilities are likely to deteriorate, improve or stay the same. Reviews ensure that claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of award throughout their claim, including claimants with degenerative conditions who may get a higher award at review to reflect a deterioration in their condition.