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Tag: 2014

  • Karl McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Karl McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what representations his Department has received on allegations of disproportionate investment towards Local Enterprise Partnership board members by (a) the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership and (b) other Local Enterprise Partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Clark

    The Government has received letters from the Hon. Member and from one of his constituents on this subject. I am assured in all cases that the Greater Lincolnshire LEP has taken appropriate steps to ensure propriety, value for money and avoid conflicts of interest.

  • William McCrea – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    William McCrea – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William McCrea on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to make a formal public acknowledgement of the sacrifice made by British troops deployed to Afghanistan in recent years.

    Mr Mark Francois

    British Service personnel served with great courage and distinction throughout the Afghanistan campaign. As the Prime Minister has made clear, the UK military personnel who sadly paid the ultimate price will never be forgotten. Neither will this Government forget those who were injured in the course of their Service.

    In addition to the many public acknowledgements, Defence has rewarded the bravery and sacrifice of those who served in Afghanistan through the awarding of medals to those who deployed. Further, the names of those who have lost their lives are recorded on the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA). In addition, the Bastion Wall monument is in the process of being replicated at the NMA, with a re-dedication service to be held later this year.

    In November 2014, the Prime Minister announced plans for a monument to those who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This work is being taken forward by an independent committee, chaired by Lord Stirrup and supported by the Ministry of Defence, with fundraising led by The Sun newspaper. Our hope is that the monument will be unveiled in 2016.

  • 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, whether the Government’s proposed reforms to A-levels will entail that students will have to decide which subjects they wish to continue to A-levels at the beginning of Year 12 rather than later in that year.

    Mr Nick Gibb

    As the first new A levels become linear from 2015, the AS will be entirely decoupled from the A level, so that the marks do not count towards the final A level grade. Students will still be able to take stand-alone AS qualifications at the end of year 12. This flexibility will help those who are unsure at the start of year 12 which subjects they wish to continue to A level. We expect teachers to help students decide whether it is right to take an AS qualification.

    The decoupling of the AS aims to end the routine and automatic external assessment of all students at the end of year 12. We believe this places unnecessary burdens on students and teachers. Those students who have made clear subject choices in year 12 will be able to use AS qualifications to add breadth to their A level studies, but will not be required to take them in all subjects.

    Schools should, as now, use their own assessments to enable students to understand how they are progressing and support them to decide what qualifications to take.

  • Simon Danczuk – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Simon Danczuk – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Danczuk on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to de-escalate the situation in Gaza.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has spoken to Israeli and Palestinian counterparts as well as key international partners about the present crisis in Gaza on numerous occasions in recent weeks, urging an end to violence, a durable ceasefire and successful negotiations in Cairo which lead to a sustainable solution to the current crisis, tackling its underlying causes. He has visited Ramallah, Jerusalem and Cairo for talks and attended the Foreign Affairs Council on 15 August. He most recently spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister about the ceasefire talks on 20 August.

  • David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2014, Official Report, column 643W, on Diego Garcia, if he will immediately publish the contents of all the records referred to in the Answer.

    Mark Simmonds

    I have asked officials to review the contents of the material, with a view to assessing their suitability for publication, in accordance with our regular procedures.

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training on the potential risks of opioid substitution treatment medications is provided to pharmacists, social workers and health visitors.

    Jane Ellison

    There is robust clinical guidance on substitute prescribing, which covers the timing and circumstances under which people with opiate dependency may be allowed to take home and be responsible for their opioid substitution medicine.

    It is for the professional bodies of pharmacists, social workers and health visitors to set the standards that training equips professionals to meet, and for employers to ensure that staff who are involved in or might encounter opioid substitution treatment are trained in its potential risks, including to children.

  • Graham Brady – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Graham Brady – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what formula determines the proportion of the World Health Organisation annual budget that should be contributed by each member state government; and when that formula was last updated.

    Jane Ellison

    The proportion of assessed contribution, the amount the United Kingdom is required to pay to the World Health Organization (WHO), which excludes any additional voluntary contributions, is based on the United Nations (UN) scale of assessments. The Government believes that UN member states should share fair and balanced financial responsibility for supporting international institutions through “capacity to pay”, as their national economies develop and presses for reform to this end. In 2012 the UK successfully negotiated a reduction in our rate of contribution to the UN Regular Budget, falling from 6.6% to 5.2%. This generated savings of around £100 million a year for HM Government through linkages between the scale rate for the Regular Budgets and those used to calculate member states’ contributions to the budgets of many other UN bodies, including the WHO. This was applied to the UK’s assessed contribution to WHO, with effect from 2014, the start of the current biennium.

  • Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2014, Official Report, column 176-7W, on computer software, what further feedback the Commission has received from (a) hon. Members, (b) hon. Members’ staff and (c) other users on migration to Office 365 since that Answer was given.

    John Thurso

    In the period 22 June to 16 July, 3,482 mailboxes assigned to hon. Members and their staff had been migrated. In that period, PICT logged 766 cases from hon. Members and their staff – either by phone or at PICT Local – directly related to issues resulting from the migration of their mailboxes. Parliamentary ICT (PICT) acknowledges that the implementation has not been as simple and straightforward as was hoped, and is aware that it has caused problems for some hon. Members.

    Since the answer to the hon. Member on 8 July, three hon. Members have given PICT written feedback on the migration of their mailbox. One was complimenting the PICT team on making it a smooth process. One was questioning the process and the distinction between the upgrade to Office 2013 and the migration of a mailbox to Microsoft 365. One had a problem with the limit on the number of people who can be added to a single email distribution list in Microsoft 365.

    Two further hon. Members have given positive oral feedback and asked to join the pilot of the wider suite of tools within Microsoft 365. Oral feedback from the teams of House staff who are also piloting the use of this wider suite of tools continues to be positive.

    The Director of PICT would be delighted to meet the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife, or any other interested Member, to discuss the feedback in more detail.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the capabilities are of the multi-purpose ankle tag; and what forms of surveillance and supervision it makes possible.

    Andrew Selous

    The multi-purpose ankle tags will support the monitoring of compliance with curfew, exclusion and inclusion zones, and subject location.

  • Peter Bone – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Peter Bone – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Leader of the House, if he will bring forward proposals to provide that the Leader of the House should be elected by the whole House, not appointed by the Prime Minister.

    Mr William Hague

    No.