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Tag: 2014

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of mango lots or number of shipments infested by tephriditae were rejected by Fera in each of the last five years; and from which source country each infected shipment was exported.

    Dan Rogerson

    The ban was imposed following persistent interceptions of plant pestson imports of Indian produce into the European Union (EU) and critical reports from the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office audits in 2010 and 2013. Despite assurances from India in response to these reports the level of interceptions remained high. The EU’s decision to introduce a ban was therefore fully justified and supported by all Member States including the UK, in line with our policy of strengthening plant health controls. Therefore, no alternatives to a ban were considered by Defra.

    Protecting plant health is a key Defra objective. Plant pests and diseases such as those intercepted from India in recent years can cause serious damage to the UK glasshouse industry which is worth over £300 million per annum. However, I am aware of the importance of the mango trade and Defra officials are liaising with the Indian High Commission on what support the UK can offer to India to help it ensure compliance with EU import requirements.

    The following table shows the number of consignments of mangoes imported into the UK in the last five years which were infested with Tephriditae (and therefore rejected) by country of origin. The European Commission is considering similar measures to those taken against India for other countries with high levels of interceptions of plant pests. Such consideration takes account of findings from all Member States, and covers all plant commodities and all pests identified.

    Year

    Country of origin

    No. of consignments imported into the UK

    No. of consignments infected with Tephritidae

    2010

    Dominican Republic

    351

    1

    India

    1977

    1

    Jamaica

    228

    3

    Pakistan

    3302

    6

    2011

    Dominican Republic

    417

    2

    India

    1836

    11

    Jamaica

    262

    3

    Pakistan

    3690

    19

    Puerto Rico

    1

    1

    Sri Lanka

    144

    1

    Uganda

    138

    1

    2012

    Bangladesh

    146

    1

    Brazil

    445

    1

    Costa Rica

    70

    2

    Dominican Republic

    606

    18

    Ghana

    628

    15

    India

    3448

    23

    Jamaica

    332

    24

    Kenya

    2044

    4

    Pakistan

    5128

    81

    Philippines

    12

    2

    Sri Lanka

    189

    10

    St Lucia

    50

    1

    Thailand

    1050

    3

    Uganda

    104

    2

    2013

    Brazil

    316

    3

    Dominican Republic

    756

    16

    Ghana

    357

    4

    Guinea

    7

    1

    India

    3563

    13

    Jamaica

    516

    17

    Kenya

    1654

    17

    Pakistan

    5910

    47

    Puerto Rico

    104

    1

    Sri Lanka

    111

    3

    U A E

    1

    1

    Vietnam

    77

    1

    2014 (to 18/06/14)

    Brazil

    106

    1

    Dominican Republic

    420

    3

    Ghana

    271

    1

    India

    401

    1

    Jamaica

    464

    9

    Kenya

    698

    7

    Mexico

    61

    1

    Senegal

    4

    1

    Sri Lanka

    69

    3

    Source: Fera and Europhyt

  • Andrew Bridgen – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Bridgen – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many referrals have been made to him where a local planning authority is minded to approve an application for planning permission against the advice of HS2 Ltd; and what his decision has been on each such referral.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There have been no referrals made to the Secretary of State for Transport where a local planning authority is minded to approve an application for planning permission against the advice of HS2 Ltd.

  • 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 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his priorities are for renegotiating UK membership of the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government’s priorities are to reform the EU so that it is more flexible, competitive and democratically accountable. We want to see further deepening of the Single European Market, especially in services; an ambitious and sustained drive to cut red tape, and successful free trade negotiations with the United States, Japan and other countries. We are also seeking greater powers for groups of national parliaments to block or review EU legislation; an end to benefit tourism, and the development of Economic and Monetary Union in a way that safeguards the interests of countries which have chosen not to join the Euro. The Government has already made progress in delivering reform, including cutting the EU budget for the first time and securing reforms of the Common Fisheries Policy that include a ban on discards and a shift to the regional and local management of fisheries.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the universal credit local support services framework supports claimants who may require extra support in accessing universal credit.

    Esther McVey

    We recognise that some people will need help with the new demands of UC. This could include understanding the new system, help with getting online, and help with managing on a monthly budget and paying rent.

    Central to the Local Support Service Framework is the “Delivery Partnerships Approach” under which DWP and local authority managers and service providers (such as Social Landlords and Charities) will work together to agree upon delivery of services at the local level. This will enable the provision of a joined-up, holistic service for claimants with complex needs and a “coherent claimant journey” for helping the claimant move from welfare dependency. Wherever appropriate, this may also result in work readiness for each claimant.

  • Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the development of the HIV/STI national clinical audit; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) commissions and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme on behalf of NHS England. The HQIP has asked for expressions of interest from suitable providers who are able to design and complete a one year feasibility study to inform any future national clinical audit of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The contract for the work will be awarded this summer. NHS England cannot disclose the number of expressions of interest that have been received at this stage as this is commercially sensitive information.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the statement by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in his foreword to HM Revenue and Customs’ consultation document, Tackling marketed tax avoidance, that there is evidence that in the vast majority of cases of challenges in court to tax avoidance schemes, when the dispute is resolved, tax is due, what that evidence is and what the range and frequency of amounts so due has been, on a graduated scale from £1 owing and upwards.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been successful in challenging tax avoidance and, in relation to avoidance cases that go to litigation, around 80% of cases litigated resulting in the tax being due. This led to around £1.7 billion of tax being protected in 2013. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the range and frequency of amounts of tax due without causing undue cost on the department to provide the information.

    The Government considered different options for the consultation period for the proposals but concluded that the time period made available was reasonable. There were a very large number of responses, which suggests that the timescale did not cause any undue impediment to those who wished to give their views in response to the consultation. ‘Tackling Marketed Tax Avoidance’ followed on from the earlier consultation over the summer of 2013 ‘Raising the Stakes on Tax Avoidance’, which consulted in detail on the initial proposal for the Follower Notice measure.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what criteria his Department differentiates a food for special medical purposes and a food supplement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department’s role and the definition of these products are set out in legislation. Information on this legislation is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-supplements-guidance-and-faqs

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/infant-formula-and-foods-for-particular-nutritional-uses-parnuts-notification-requirements

    Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of the legislation and provide advice to businesses on compliance with legislation.

  • Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Corbyn on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli government regarding the distribution of water between Palestinians and settlers in the West Bank.

    Hugh Robertson

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised the issue of water distribution in the West Bank with the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) on 22 April 2014.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on how many UK-based registered users of the paedophile file sharing network website boylover.net have been identified by international authorities in (a) the US and (b) Holland; what proportion of those was passed to UK authorities for investigation; what steps her Department is taking to trace those registered users; and if she will make a statement.

    Norman Baker

    I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given on 19 June 2014, Official Report, columns 666-667W.
    Following two linked international investigations into the boylover.net
    website, information was provided to the Child Exploitation and Online
    Protection Centre (CEOP) by US authorities and Europol that related to UK-based
    registered users. CEOP was, at that time, an affiliate of the Serious Organised
    Crime Agency. We do not maintain a record of the number of UK-registered users
    of the website identified by United States or Dutch authorities, nor of what
    proportion of those users were passed to CEOP. However, as a consequence of the
    information provided and through CEOP’s own investigations, 240 intelligence
    packages were prepared and subsequently disseminated to police forces across
    the UK. Further information regarding charges, convictions and open
    investigations is handled at a local level by the relevant police force and
    is not recorded nationally.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 724W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, if he will make an interim assessment of the effects of the under-occupancy penalty on rent arrears in the social rented sector in the first year of its introduction.

    Esther McVey

    We have already commissioned a two year evaluation of the effects of the removal of the spare room subsidy across Great Britain. The evaluation commenced in April 2013 and is being led by Ipsos-MORI and includes the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research. The final report will be published in late 2015.

    Rent arrears can have multiple causes and levels tend to fluctuate over time. A longer time frame than one year is required in order to factor out short-term fluctuations and to see whether and to what extent the removal of the spare room subsidy has impacted on rent arrears levels.

    There is some evidence that rent arrears levels are falling, as the Homes and Communities Agency reported in February 2014 that the median level of arrears among larger housing associations had fallen from 4.1% in the second quarter of 2013-14 to 3.9% in the third quarter of 2013-14.